It’s been 30 years since we last saw Axel Foley saving the day at WonderWorld in what would be end up being a franchise killing mission. But Eddie Murphy’s back in his iconic character once again for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F now streaming on Netflix. I was a little apprehensive about this sequel, but I’ve seen it. There were things I really enjoyed, and aspects of it that faltered a bit. So, let’s get into the good, the bad, and everything in between on Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
I went into this new sequel with an open mind despite my worries, and overall, I think it was a good time. I used to be a film critic, but I’ve always been a cinema geek first. So, this review will be broken down into two parts, first from the viewpoint of a movie lover, and the other from a more critical perspective. Now there’s no denying I love the first two cop films, and I love Murphy’s comedic excellence in his portrayal of Axel Foley. Beverly Hills Cop has always been known for its comedy, its action, and its music so for that aspect Axel F does kick off with a bang and it gives you everything you could ask for.
The snarky charm of Foley is delivered immediately. There’s a high energy chase through Detroit in a snow plow as a modernization of the famous song “Shakedown” kicks in. So, only a few minutes in, Axel F is riding at full speed with a blend of nostalgia and new. Murphy’s dropping comical lines, ripping through the city in a snow plow destroying property and dodging gunfire. The music is taking you back in time and it’s all an engaging ride similar to the truck full of cigarettes in the opening of cop 1. This moves right into the first seed of the plot being planted to bring Foley out to Beverly Hills which brings his daughter into the mix. There’s another quick but comical chase sequence involving a parking meter car with all the action set to a newer version of “Neutron Dance”. So, I have to give it to this movie for crafting an entertaining first act. With the familiar elements that laid the groundwork for the franchise being laid out immediately.
From there though the pacing does drag a bit as it begins to introduce its collection of characters and its sprinkling of subplots. These story layers and character types are all things we’ve seen before so when you can predict where specific things will ultimately go the meandering through expositional dialogue and plot beats actually makes the movie boring for much of the middle act. There are comical bits, and a handful of comical moments littered in. Serge makes his appearance which is fun. But for the bulk of this movie, it feels like it’s going nowhere.
That’s not to mean Axel F is a bad movie. It’s just a mid-movie where you can sit through it and turn your brain off to engage just enough in the surface level story to take the ride of nostalgia, comedy, and action. When the action is kicking this movie is a surprising amount of fun and better than I was expecting. And despite knowing the outcome, the action-packed finale is a good time. So, while I hoped this movie would’ve been better it was still a more enjoyable experience than Cop 3 for sure.
Now on a critical side this movie has some huge issues. First off would be the lighting of the film overall. The characters are routinely placed with the major light source to their sides or sometimes behind the actors and even during the daytime scenes this movie feels dark and lacking any artistic flair. The direction and cinematography are also extremely basic. Scenes are framed and angled like so many other movies we’ve seen, most of which are on TV. Which is what Axel F looked like, a polished made-for-TV movie. I won’t deny the action is well-staged and nicely shot. These sequences get the energy up effectively, but the quiet storytelling moments lack any sort of cinematic feel. From my research of director Mark Molloy this looks to be his first full feature film, and you can see he stuck to the basics which is not something you should be doing in a known IP with a pre-build tone and atmosphere.
The other issue I had was in the writing. The trio behind this film have a solid resume of films but it just didn’t translate well here. The subplot of Murphy and his daughter feels very contrived because of the exposition infused dialogue they’re given. The interactions between the characters feels a bit too on-the-nose and while there are solid spots of humor that had me laughing, it’s not really able to be a funny film overall because the storytelling moments are such a drag due to their recycled feel. So, where the story may have its plug-and-play pieces it still worked to connect the humor, action, and nostalgia. But the screenplay was a weakness for sure with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, and Kevin Bacon all having their moments but all being capable of adding more to these characters.
So overall this was a serviceable action-comedy, and it was a good time seeing the gang back together. It should’ve been better but it’s still better than many of the nostalgia-fueled sequels, remakes, and reboots we’ve getting of all the 80s and 90s IP’s we know, and love.
Grade: C+
Anthony J. Digioia II © 2024 SilverScreen Analysis & Movies Never Say Die
