‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ Review: Eddie Murphy Plus The OGs Are Back And The Heat Is Still On For A Winning Franchise
deadline.comIt is hard to believe it has been 40 years since Eddie Murphy first exploded onto the screen as one of his signature characters, Axel Foley, in 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop.
But even if that 22 year old is now 63, he is still on the beat and doesn’t miss a beat all these years later in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, almost seeming to have stopped time with this character who is just as funny, sharp and entertaining as ever.
The original was the top-grossing movie of its year and led to two sequels, one in 1987 and another in 1994. That’s right, we haven’t had an Axel fix for 30 years, though not for lack of trying; there were several scripts along the way, but none felt right to its star until finally bringing in producer Jerry Bruckheimer who (with late partner Don Simpson) made the first couple of films.
Bruckheimer knew just what the franchise would require: let Eddie be Eddie and let Axel be Axel. It’s as simple as that, and it really works with a first-time feature director and a key screenwriter who was once a cop himself creatively in charge.
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