My siblings and I grew up on the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise and once I saw the trailer for the long-awaited fourth installment, I knew it was going to be my movie review for this week.
Now to be fair, I don’t remember the third movie at all and I think it’s the general consensus that I didn’t miss much.
However, Axel F maintains the same hilarity and pacing as its predecessors.
Plus, I’m glad that the production didn’t water down Foley for more mass appeal.
Not to mention the cameos and reappearances of other Beverly Hills Cop characters are an awesome way to tie the movies all together.
Axel F is an American action comedy film directed by Mark Molloy and written by Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten from a story by Beall.
Serving as the fourth installment in the Beverly Hills Cop film series and a sequel to Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Eddie Murphy (who also produces) reprises his role as 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, Damien Diaz, and Kevin Bacon star in new roles.
The film clocks in at 115 minutes long and is rated R for language throughout, violence, and brief drug use.
Thirty years after the Wonder World incident, Axel Foley (Murphy) remains a Detroit police detective under the supervision of his friend Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman (Reiser).
In pursuit of a group of thieves looting the Detroit Red Wings’ locker room during a game and Axel’s ensuing chase causes costly damage to the city.
Pressured by the police commissioner, Jeffrey announces his retirement.
He suggests Axel reconnect with his estranged daughter Jane Saunders (Paige) a defense attorney in LA who is under the tutelage of Axel’s friend Billy Rosewood (Reinhold), former Beverly Hills Police Officer turned PI.
Rosewood also calls Axel, warning him Jane’s life is in danger.
He had guided Jane as she represents Sam Enriquez (Diaz) who was framed for the murder of undercover officer Copeland.
After the call, Rosewood recovers evidence from the vehicle wherein the murder took place, but is kidnapped by the cartel.
Axel returns to Beverly Hills and when Rosewood doesn’t respond he heads to Rosewood’s office to find a suspicious team searching for something.
Axel removes a page out of Rosewood’s agenda, then is chased by the group through Rodeo Drive and is arrested.
Taken to the BHPD, Axel is met by Detective Bobby Abbott (Levitt), Jane’s ex-boyfriend, and reunites with his old friend John Taggart (Ashton).
Jane meets up with Axel, however, the reunion is met with resistance as Jane is interested in obtaining evidence to aid her in Enriquez’s case.
Taggart excitedly introduces Axel to Captain Cade Grant (Bacon) who he mentored as a young police cadet.
Upon meeting Grant, Axel distrusts him as he’s wearing excessively expensive items for his modest salary.
After Jane bails out her father, Axel attempts to reconnect with her but she resists because Axel divorced Jane’s mother sometime in the past 30 years.
Overall, I think the film does a fairly good job of bringing Axel Foley and the Beverly Hills Cop franchise forward while lining things up for another film.
Currently, the film is available for streaming on Netflix and is worth it for the nostalgia in my book.
