There was a time in which Eddie Murphy actually had a blossoming career, having hit the fame quite massively in the 80s and 90s as his comedy work really blew up. Though after those two decades, the comedian and actor disappeared, the public interest in him had hit its height and everyone moved on. But there's a film that he worked on in the 80s that managed to leave quite a mark on people, and that was the comedy and action film Beverly Hills Cop. A film that explored a charismatic police officer in the luxurious 80s scenery of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. It served up a bit of a cliche narrative in which a cop lands in a town with the intent on solving the murder case of a friend, leading to him spiralling into the criminal underworld and revealing a much larger picture. The film wasn't amazing, but it was a fun entry into the cop/buddy cop genre that was also booming with multiple other entries, another of which with a similar style would've been Lethal Weapon with Mel Gibson. The genre inevitable died with over-saturation, but now we are in 2024, and have been seeing the decade of remakes, reboots, prequels and sequels! There's no better time than now for Hollywood to dig up the corpse of a former franchise and reanimate it for profit. This is the era of safe films, ones in which the film industry relies on existing faces and brands while offering the most simplistic, uninteresting and forgettable narrative imaginable. For context, this is now the fourth title in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, an already exhausted title.
Before going into this film, it's already evident that this isn't going to be a great title. Much like the originals, at best it'll be a fun experience that leads to a viewing once and then totally forgetting it exists shortly after. With a story that pulls our protagonist out of nothing in his old age and back into the same situations as before, albeit with less intensity given the lack of mobility Eddie Murphy now faces at the ripe age of 63! Now, I don't mind Eddie Murphy, his stand-up comedy was actually quite funny back in the day. But I did go into this with concerns over how his acting holds up, having not seen in him a single thing since that one terrible Disney film called The Haunted Mansion, if I recall. Or perhaps some other film about how he's actually a tiny alien inside a big machine person. God, what a fever dream these films sound like. I'm sure there have been others I have seen since, but this sums up the nature of his performances in the last few decades. Unrecognisable, almost. Totally forgettable. It's understandable why Hollywood began to consider Murphy less of a lead actor, and more as one that could be placed into the background with supporting performances that rely on his name more than anything else. Not to say he's a bad actor, but that the public doesn't find much interest in him anymore.
This isn't anything new to the world of film, however. It's far more frequent than we typically notice. And it's why this title seemed like a bit of a red flag to me at first. I was a fan of the originals. I've seen them countless times, but I know not to let nostalgia take the reigns here. Well, let's get into the review, I guess.
Pushed forward with the reliance on its nostalgia factor, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F sure loves to push the buttons with the use of its more famous, loved music. The synth style music that most that hear it at this point will only manage to connect it with the much more fun and idiotic Crazy Frog character. Funnily, that's all that comes to mind for me now whenever I hear the theme of Beverly Hills Cop. However, this title isn't about an animated frog, it's about the main character Axel, portrayed by Murphy. To no surprise this is also a Netflix distributed production, which is pretty interesting in the case of obtaining the rights. The film starts off with the typical elements of bait with some fun 80s music as Axel drives through the city. It was a bit weird to see this mix of the 80s theme and the Axel character as the scenery shows a more modern America. But it doesn't start off bad at all, definitely relying on some of the nostalgia elements as the opening credits roll. But the way the film dives into some of its narrative was something I actually enjoyed. It throws us into some of the action and sets up an initial side character.
One thing that the film really ensures is that Axel's character hasn't changed at all. Despite the age and despite the modern annoyances of how characters are written, Axel's character remains almost identical to the past. His humour is still there, and it works nicely in the interactions he has with people. The cartoonish way that his character interacts with the world, the charisma and sarcasm that gets him into dangerous situations without a care in the world. The film ensures we don't forget this with a pretty fast introduction that has the pacing increasing from shootouts to car chases. I think characters like Axel are missing from the world of storytelling in the film industry as of late, with characters that are incredibly likeable but also incredibly chaotic. Though it's after this initial action sequence that the film begins to follow through in its reboot cliches. Axel risks being fired, the boss claims he's retiring and can no longer defend Axel like he always has, and Axel is likely on his own this time. It teases this upcoming end of an era, the ways in which Axel hasn't changed but the world around him has, and things aren't going to be the same forever as others move on.
The film starts off in the cold and snowy Michigan, which is something I found quite refreshing. I assumed it might be a film in which it removes itself from the Beverly Hills setting and tried something different, but sooner or later it brings us back to the sunny Los Angeles. The film does its usual Hollywood joke of placing a character from the 80s or 90s into the modern world. Seeing how a modern Los Angeles has changed into a place of intense glamour and capital. The jokes of luxury and how the Los Angeles aesthetic has changed with chaotic fashion and the idea of personality. Beneath the surface, the film holds the typical narrative of the now aged protagonist that has to reconnect with their child, a mixture of stories that combines the drama of the characters and their now complex lives alongside the action and chaos that comes from the situations the characters find themselves getting caught up in. In the case of this film it's a result of a murder case that Axel's daughter is trying to solve, representing someone that's supposedly a cop killer. This is a story of corrupt cops and dirty money, pulling Axel and his aged pals out into the modern world to both protect Axel's daughter while finding out the truth.
Too much of the film focuses on the side characters which just aren't interesting. And it's a shame because a lot of the film has some engaging and entertaining parts. But the pacing is pulled out and replaced with the relationship drama and lives of the younger characters. A typical slight passing of the torch scenario. There's parts where the film tries to hide this, and to some degree it does well. But for a film it almost feels like the dialogue completely shifts and turns into a television series with much more runtime. These are the moments in which it starts to feel soulless even if somewhat visually impressive. The cinematography and directing are by far the least offensive parts of the film, and I quite enjoyed the anamorphic, colourful look that gave a particular bright colour grading to the visuals. Action scenes are well choreographed, and moments feel they have significant weight. The rest just seems a bit void of identity. So much so that the film sometimes reminds us of what film this is meant to be with the replaying of the Axel F theme.
