Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is a legacy sequel that works!

Hollywood has often been criticised for running out of ideas and struggling to come up with original stories and IP.

The overabundance of sequels released decades after its previous film only supports this theory. Beloved franchises like Indiana Jones, Terminator, Jurrasic Park, The Matrix, Ghostbusters and Halloween are just a few of the many that have had their legacies dragged through the mud due to disappointing, half-baked sequels used to make a quick buck.

That’s not to say they all don’t work; if there’s a story that fits the world that the original has created, then great! Look at Top Gun, Blade Runner, Mad Max or even the Creed movies. While not on the standard of those previously mentioned films, Beverley Hills Cop: Axel F proved that Eddie Murphy’s action-comedy franchise is worth revisiting.

Set 40 years after the 1984 original, Axel Foley is still up to his usual hijinx in Detroit. Still thrilled at the idea of putting bad guys away and using his wit to get him out of sticky situations, Axel has remained a detective while his peers have either been promoted or retired.

This is a familiar trope; look no further than Top Gun: Maverick. The reason we, as viewers, still care is because we love the characters, and the situation fits within the realm of possibility as to where that character might be in the decades since we’ve last seen them.

Foley is then forced to Beverly Hills once more after his lifelong friend, and former LA cop Billy Ravenwood (played once again by Judge Reinhold), informs Axel that his estranged daughter (a defence lawyer) has been threatened by a group who framed her client.

Now, this doesn’t sound super original, and the estranged child trope is never my favourite, but the reason this film works for me is that the story deviates enough from the original while keeping the charm of its protagonists intact.

While 1984 was 40 years ago, Eddie Murphy is still only 64 years old and is still well capable of carrying a movie like this. Something an 81-year-old Harrison Ford struggled to do in Indiana Jones or a 76-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger in the most recent Terminator films.

Murphy clearly still has affection for the character of Foley, too. It is the most interested Murphy has looked in a role in ages.

With the evident care the original three leads, Eddie Murphy (Axel Foley), Judge Reinhold (Billy Ravenwood) and John Ashton (John Targert) still have, along with a strong new cast featuring the likes of Kevin Bacon, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Taylour Paige, the film boasts a fun and entertaining cast.

The music of the original films could almost be considered a character in and of themselves. Kenny Loggins, The Pointer Sisters and that catchy synth-inspired theme all return. Not in a ‘Hey, remember this?’ way, but in an ‘Axel hasn’t moved on, and neither has his taste in music way’. This is nostalgia at its best.

The other big positive of this film is its action set pieces. While the first three films had the occasional car chase, they were reserved for more traditional shootouts. Axel F showcases its $150 million budget for all to see, with practical stunts and real locations, and I loved it!

Despite all the movie does right, there are some complaints.

The pacing in the middle act needs some revision. There is too much walking and talking, and while I’m not opposed to some good character-driven dialogue, it did feel a bit like filler.

I also wasn’t sold on the ‘estranged daughter’ plot thread. It felt like a lazy story beat to get Axel back to Beverly Hills, the film could have used more of its middle act to explore what went wrong in the pair’s relationship but nothing, not even who the mother is, was explored. A missed opportunity, in my opinion.

My last little gripe is, why was this limited to a streaming service? Put it on the big screen!

Overall, I loved my time with Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. The highs and the nostalgia this blockbuster gave me outweighed any of the negative opinions I hold, making it a worthy legacy sequel and a fantastic blast from the past for those who loved the original three films.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is currently streaming on Netflix.

Original Article published by Jarryd Rowley on Riotact.