Origin and release year: United States (2024 – Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F)
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Taylour Paige, Judge Reinhold, Kevin Bacon, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, Zack Palmisano, Luis Guzmán, Angela Barber, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Mark Pellegerino
Director: Mark Molloy
Screenwriter: Will Beall, Tom Gormican, Kevin Etten
Synopsis: Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills after his daughter’s life is threatened for a family reunion that includes old pals John Taggart and Billy Rosewood to uncover a conspiracy. (IMDb)
For those who don’t know. You need to understand that Beverly Hills Cop is one of the most iconic movie franchise to come out of the 80’s and 90’s. So, the anticipation for this modern interpretation was high – especially for this writer who grew up on the original films.
The prospect of having Eddie Murphy back in action, in his element, and with that old sentiment brought to life was exciting to say the least… And Beverley Hills Cop: Axel F delivered on that exceptionally, for the most part…
At first, the novelty of this film created in the older action movie style but with modern aesthetic and a whoooooollle lot of nostalgia at work, had you fascinated with the storyline in itself. In fact, leading up to him getting back to Beverly Hills, the film is really captivating. However, that magic starts to wear off bit by bit in the film. More than not being a solid film, it’s just that it seems to not live up to the hype of the originals and the excitement that you had starts to wear off.
Don’t get us wrong, the chemistry between all of the original members was stellar and the comedy was gold. Eddie Murphy was entertaining right to the end of the film. BUT, the storyline with his daughter (played by Taylour Paige) just seemed to take away from the thrill of things?
We get there’s friction between them but somehow we’re not all that invested in them sorting it out – especially since the happy ending between them is so obvious. Maybe it’s because it felt like her hate towards him was over-the-top considering her age? Granted anyone would be hurt in that situation, but the fact that there’s almost a lack of maturity in her character for her big age, it almost seemed unbelievable. She had beef with him but it felt like she couldn’t dig below the surface of that beef and get into it enough for us to be just as angsty about it as she was.
On that note, the other newer actors/characters in Beverley Hills Cop: Axel F were also not bringing much to the table. They almost felt like fillers in the space. Which in a sense might be what diluted the film. If they had just focused on Eddie and his shenanigans without trying to do too much with the new people, it might have overall been a better film. Just a thought.
What did you think of Beverley Hills Cop: Axel F? Let us know in the comments!