Beverly Hills Cop – Axel F movie made us nostalgic. Eddie Murphy making a comeback as Axel F in 2024, it is a throwback to the Hollywood potboilers dominating the 1980s era.
Moreover, it also marks the return of the American “Beverly Hills Cop” film franchise {Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) based on characters created by Daniel Petrie, Jr. and Danilo Bach. In all of these Hollywood movies, the protagonist Axel Foley is portrayed by the irrepressible star Eddie Murphy.
“Beverly Hills Cop – Axel F” Made Us Nostalgic, As It Took Us Into 1980s Era When Eddie Murphy Reigned Box Office
Trailer: Beverly Hills Cop – Axel F (2024) Movie
The parts of this 2024 movie title "Alex F" is ode to the Harold Faltermeyer’s classic Beverly Hills Cop 1984 theme tune “Axel F”, which had been used as the theme song for the Beverly Hills Cop films.
Spoiler Free Review: Beverly Hills Cop – Axel F (2024) Movie
The synopsis
Axel Foley is back. Eddie Murphy returns as Detective Axel Foley in Beverly Hills (Los Angeles County, California) after his daughter’s life is threatened. Soon after, he teams up with his daughter Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige) and a new partner Detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Then together with his old friends Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton), they work to uncover a conspiracy and bring the culprits to justice.
Note:- Axel's daughter, Jane Saunders, is so distant from him that she no longer uses his surname Foley.
The cast of this movie brings back familiar faces from earlier installments, such as Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold, who have been in all the movies; John Ashton and Paul Reiser, who were in the first two films; and Bronson Pinchot, who appeared in the first and third movies.
We liked this nostalgic trip down memory lane into the 1980s.
While watching this film, we felt as if the famous Hollywood star Eddie Murphy had not aged, since the release of the first of Beverly Hills Cop, way back in the 1980s. Meanwhile, his co-stars from the same movies, Bronson Pinchot, Paul Reiser, Judge Reinhold and John Ashton looked older people. It is worth mentioning that Eddie Murphy was 23 years young when he made his first film in 1984 and he is now 63 years old in 2024.
Then, the old theme songs and the familiar (Alex F) background music bring up those happier times.
At the start of the movie, Axel (Eddie Murphy) is shown driving a blue Chevy Nova that looks very much like the one he drove in the original Beverly Hills Cop film released in 1984.
Axel's hotel check-in and subsequent shock at the price is a reference to a similar moment in the original Beverly Hills Cop (1984) film.
Interestingly, it also marks Mark Molloy’s feature directorial debut. We feel that Mark has done a wonderful job, by taking us on a nostalgic trip into the 1980s era.
When our lives were a lot simpler and much less complicated.
Two actors play the two key characters in the movie
Once again Eddie Murphy plays the motormouth cop, who is always full of energy.
“It was a hard one. I did Axel Foley when I was in my 20s. I am not in my 20s anymore. It was an action movie. So it was a rough one. But we got through it.”
Eddie Murphy | People magazine.
On the other hand, Kevin portrays the less talkative but scheming cop, who loves luxuries.
“We’ve never worked together; this is our first time. But obviously, I followed him (Eddie Murphy) for a long time, and we both came up around the same time. Footloose (1984 movie) came out the same year as Beverly Hills Cop, and so to get a chance to work with him was definitely on my bucket list. I admire him so much.”
Kevin Bacon | Netflix.
Despite its predictability, we liked the potboiler film
While watching this film, you are likely to come across quite a few comical scenes like the one mentioned below.
We loved this smart comical scene in the film:
While discussing Detective Axel Foley's (Eddie Murphy) three other cases in Beverly Hills, Detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) mentions that the third one "was not his best work," which is probably a nod to Beverly Hills Cop III 91994), a film that Eddie Murphy did not appreciate and is considered the least successful in the series.
Moreover, we loved the fun scenes in the film the pepper spray and the helicopter. So, you keep a close eye. And enjoy.
The movie has almost a right blend of comedy and action in it. Perhaps, in keeping up with the times, it does have older good guys fighting it out against another older bad guy Kevin Bacon (Captain Cade Grant) in the film. And it was always fun to watch a talented bunch of its ensemble cast do their acts, Eddie Murphy (Axel Foley), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Detective Bobby Abbott), Taylour Paige (Jane Saunders), Kevin Bacon (Captain Cade Grant), Judge Reinhold (Billy Rosewood), John Ashton (Chief John Taggart), Paul Reiser (Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman), Bronson Pinchot (Serge), etc.
Once again, all of them put up an entertaining film for the fans.
The rating
| FM Rating | 3.25/5 |
“My uncle had a VHS player, which was rare where I grew up in rural Australia. He put [Beverly Hills Cop] on, and I remember lying on the carpet watching it. I was just in awe. I’d never seen a movie like it, for one. But Eddie [Murphy], Axel Foley, the jacket, LA, Beverly Hills — everything just felt so exotic to me.”
Mark Molloy, Director | Netflix.
The posters
Key Details
| Genre | Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller |
| Original language | English (USA) |
| Duration | 1 hour 58 minutes |
| Writers | Danilo Bach, Daniel Petrie Jr., & Will Beall |
| Director | Mark Molloy |
| Music | Lorne Balfe & Harold Faltermeyer |
| Cast | Eddie Murphy (Axel Foley), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Detective Bobby Abbott), Taylour Paige (Jane Saunders), Kevin Bacon (Captain Cade Grant), Judge Reinhold (Billy Rosewood), John Ashton (Chief John Taggart), Paul Reiser (Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman), Bronson Pinchot (Serge), etc. |
| Network | Netflix. (It is the only Beverly Hills Cop film to be distributed by Netflix. The other 3 were from Paramount.) |
The conclusion
The last 1994 movie instalment left somewhat of a bad taste in our mouths; so we liked the fact that this 2024 movie reestablishes the popular film franchise, once again. Once again, especially, in the last scene of this movie with Eddie Murphy (Detective Axel Foley), John Ashton (Chief John Taggart) and Judge Reinhold (Billy Rosewood) allowed us to relive those memories. Now, we look forward to a couple of more of Alex F in future.
Bonus Video of The 1980s Edit
Posters, Featured and Other Images of Beverly Hills Cop – Axel F (2024) Movie are credited to Netflix.