Stars : Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige and Kevin Bacon
Watch on : Netflix
Gosh, the first of the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ movie series that we saw, was way back in 1984, an incredible four decades ago and Eddie Murphy was the coolest dude who was as funny as the slick cop as he was dead-centre in the action & chase sequences. So the instant we came across this latest one, we thought we’d binge on it with soda & chips like good old days. If you aren’t an Eddie Murphy fan, this one is fine but it’s no classic.
Serving as the fourth installment in the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ film series and as a sequel to Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Eddie Murphy (now also the producer) reprises his role as veteran cop Axel Foley, with Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot reprising their roles from previous films in the franchise, while Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, and Kevin Bacon star in new roles.
What’s interesting here is a slightly transformed Axel who with age has become a bit reflective and mature (if that’s at all possible !) because here he’s now playing the father to a very independent minded daughter Jane with whom he’s estranged. She’s a lawyer representing Enriquez, framed for the murder of an undercover officer Copeland. On getting disturbing information, Axel returns to Beverly Hills because his daughter’s and his old partner Billy Rosewood’s lives are threatened and offers to be by her side.
The father-daughter’s discordant chats & humorous banter in the initial stages between Axel and Jane are fun to watch and so are Axel’s attempts to control his daughter’s love life and relationships which have soured. However, she and Axel team up with her ex-boyfriend Bobby Abbott and his old pals, John Taggart and Serge (both looking senior but as nutty as before ) to uncover a conspiracy masterminded by actor, Kevin Bacon. The Foley action and the car smash ups in the chases have all been duly incorporated !
Loyalty factor leads us to force-watch certain films, it doesn’t take enlightened critics to opine ‘Beverly Hills Cop 1’ was the best, as it happens where many sequels follow !
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