Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is an action/comedy, the 4th installment in the franchise. Axel Foley(Eddie Murphy) remains a Detroit detective, the movie opens on a Red Wings game where he is following some suspects which culminates in a high speed chase damaging a lot of private and public property. He is suspended and heads to Beverly Hills after his old friend Billy(Judge Reinhold) tells him his daughter Jane(Taylour Paige) is in over her head on a cop killing case.
Murphy deploys his wisecracking charm as if it hasn't been 30 years since he last revisited the role. Its great and a mix of nostalgia and an odd edge(even though the humor is in-line with the previous films). Its wonderful to see him here and his late career return starting with Dolemite Is My Name continues, maybe not with all unequivocal hits, but still he has been missed, he is a singular performer with a robust career and now, perhaps more than ever with all the mix up in show business, we need him. The returning cast are all great to see(although Reinhold has had some unfortunate plastic surgery) and new comers to the franchise fit right in and enhance- Paige plays it absolutely straight and almost single handedly grounds the film with necessary reality and stakes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays off Murphy well, and Kevin Bacon is deliciously over-the-top as the heavy. All-in-all a stellar cast.
The production is shockingly practical and expansive. The action is visceral and Murphy is still able to execute it well and weave comedy throughout. The classic score fades in and out effectively and it mostly moves along at a decent clip(even if there's a moment or too where the plot becomes a bit heavy). It really works and it should have been released in theaters, this is an undisputable crowd pleaser with a large demographic reach(not to mention a large budget) so there is no possible benefit for Netflix to confine this to streaming.
If Bad Boys: Ride Or Die(aka Bad Boys 4) was a moderate box office success Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F(aka Beverly Hills Cop 4) would have been a bona fide hit(particularly with the current malnourished release schedule). The original Bad Boys was an attempt to repurpose Beverly Hills Cop and for the talent that Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have in this particular genre niche(which I don't dispute) you could argue it was created by Eddie Murphy who is still the king.
Straight-up fun.
Currently streaming on Netflix.
See It.
No comments:
Post a Comment