Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F – 2024
Axel F is the fourth film in the Beverly Hills Cop series. The previous film was made in 1994 so you could argue it was about time. My memories of Beverly Hills Cop 3 are very scarce and limited though, likewise with the second film in the series. They were more or less mere transportation and a cash-in on the first film’s success.
Axel F is a continuation of sorts to the third movie though. We soon recognize ourselves in the style of the movie, the music is repeated from the previous movies – The Heat is On – and so on. Early on we notice that it’s not a pure action film either, there’s lots of humor in it. Maybe a bit too much and constructed at times. Eddie Murphy does the part of Axel Foley, of course, anything else would be just wrong. And I’d say he does it well. I miss the characteristic laugh from the older films though. Not a single time do we get to hear it. That was a disappointment.
As a standalone movie, it isn’t very good. It’s entertaining, but if it didn’t have a history of three previous movies it wouldn’t have much strength on its own. There are winks at the old films and those winks are indeed this movie’s strength! We meet characters from the older films. Judge Reinhold and John Ashton in the roles of Rosewood and Taggart being the main old characters. They’re not in the movie very much, but it’s a nice touch! There are others as well and it’s pleasant to see them.
The story is thin. But that was to be expected. Axel’s daughter, who is a defense attorney, gets into trouble with a case and Axel travels from Detroit back to Beverly Hills to help out and to protect his daughter. Needless to say, she wants nothing to do with him since she feels if he hadn’t connected her in the last God knows how many years, he doesn’t have to start now. We know they will make amends in the end. It’s just that kind of movie.
Furthermore, we see within a second who’s a corrupt cop. They could have maybe hidden it a little bit. That’s about it. There are a dirty cop, drugs, and therefore drug money, and a cartel. Axel is the usual supercop and together with his daughter and a suspended Beverly Hills Cop. He solves the case, saves the day, and all that.
The positive things are mostly nostalgia. It’s fun to see how they involved people from the previous films and how the dialog refers to things that have already happened before. But as a new standalone film? Nah… Plus, there’s no bananas.
