The London Action Festival hosted a special big-screen showing of BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F at the Mayfair Hotel in London on its’ official Netflix bow on July 3rd, 2024.
Although this film has been destined to play as a first-run streamer, one hopes that there will be sufficient lobbying to at least get it back into repertory and mainstream cinemas for some big-screen showings. On the basis of what I witnessed on the night, the film deserves to be seen by everyone on the big screen and is another example of why cinema should endure in some form.
It’s a shame that Paramount Pictures didn’t opt to push this film out as it does feel weird not seeing the mountain logo at the front of the film (that said, the STAR WARS sequels seemed to manage OK without the Fox logo from THE FORCE AWAKENS onwards).
The good news, these gripes aside, is that BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F does at least attempt to return the series to the gritty mix of comic profanity and violence that defined the original that hit blockbuster status from the end of 1984 onwards, becoming one of the top draws in 1985 behind BACK TO THE FUTURE and RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II.
New director Mark Malloy takes us back into familiar but welcoming territory with ever-wisecracking Detroit Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) at the outset dealing with some locals attempting to steal from ice hockey player lockers during a local game. His superior is retiring Detroit Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser) (Gilbert Hill who played Foley’s original boss Inspector Todd died back in 2016)
It isn’t long before bad things are happening again in the City of Angels, this time with Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold, seriously underused and my biggest disappointment watching this!), now a PI, and Foley’s estranged daughter Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige, matching Murphy move for move!), a lawyer on a big case with a stooge, Sam Enriquez (Damien Diaz) who appears to have been set up.
The key to the big case is an SD card from an in-car surveillance camera with some vital evidence that is of major interest to two officers, Detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, competent) and Captain Cade Grant (Kevin Bacon) forming the heart of a major local investigation of corruption.
Rosewood’s old partner Taggart (John Ashton) is now Chief of the Beverly Hills Police Department and just as gruff as ever. Foley falls foul of the baddies when he discovers them ransacking Rosewood’s office and gets arrested during a chase through downtown Beverly Hills. Jane bails him and the two team up to get to the bottom of the investigation. Grant has other ideas…
OK, there isn’t really anything original overall about this film. It is rooted in the 1980s action zeitgeist and the plot is about as old-school as you expect if your affection and fondness harks back (like me) to those bombastic Joel Silver and Cannon Group cult faves from the time. The elements are there, but there is a loving and knowing genuine joy in seeing these old characters again – and one of the biggest cheers from the Mayfair screening event was reserved for Serge (Bronson Pinchot) who lights up the screen in the same way as he did during his and Foley’s first encounter in the art gallery.
Purists will note the absence of Ronny Cox at Bogomil. Given his advanced years, it may have been a stretch. However, it would be nice to have seen him somewhere.
The action is well-coordinated in line with the other films, with a climax that evokes memories of SCARFACE. The banter between Foley and others harks back to the very best moments of the original film. Fans may debate whether it is better than the other sequels, but it is a major improvement on the third film released three decades ago and edges the second film.
It is of course the soundtrack that helped make BEVERLY HILLS COP the phenomenon it was and I am happy that they have revived much of the key songs that defined the first and second films. This is a film for the fans by those who helped make it so – and all the more welcoming for that at a time when some sequels are falling short. Things bode well for the in-development LETHAL FINALE being directed by Mel Gibson after Richard Donner‘s recent death and one hopes that that does return us to the joy of the 1987 classic,
Hopes for a follow-up run high.
BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F is now available to stream via Netflix.
Check out pictures and video from the World Premiere here:
For more on the London Action Festival, please go to:
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