Movie Review: Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)

Synopsis: Even though many think he should retire, Axel Foley continues to work for the Detroit Police Department, occasionally leaving a path of destruction in his wake. When he learns his estranged attorney daughter, Jane, is in danger because her client is being framed for murder by a dirty cop, he returns to Beverly Hills to protect her and discovers his long-time friend, Billy Rosewood, now a private investigator helping Jane, has gone missing.

Who's in it? The movie stars Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon and John Ashton.



Review: While they aren't among the movies I normally watch on repeat, I did enjoy the first three Beverly Hills Cop movies and when I heard Eddie Murphy was going to reprise his Axel Foley role for one more, I was interested. My wife and I watched it on Netflix this evening and it was about what I was expecting it to be. 

As I figured would be the case, the movie focuses primarily on nostalgia and has a paint-by-numbers plot. There aren't a lot of surprise twists and most of the storyline is relatively predictable. Adding a now-adult daughter (Paige) to the mix rather than another love interest was a bit unique but other than giving Axel a damsel in distress to protect and save didn't add a whole lot, mostly because she was a brand-new character without a whole lot of detail in terms of backstory (including who her mother was) and nothing to connect to from that nostalgia standpoint.

That said, the movie did prove to be entertaining. There is plenty of action throughout with very little downtime between the action scenes. The main villain, Cade Grant (Bacon) is a formidable opponent who seemed to be able to keep one step ahead of Foley and was just unpredictable enough to keep you guessing about just how far he'd go.

I think my only real complaint about the movie is it provides 1980s violence in a modern-day setting and drops the ball a bit by not including that in the narrative. Don't get me wrong, this isn't the type of movie you want to watch because you're looking for a film that makes you think too much. It just felt like it was a missed opportunity, even if it was done with a comedic twist.

Final Opinion: The original trilogy is better, and this nostalgic installment doesn't add anything new. However, it is still a fun movie to watch, and I'd recommend taking the time to watch it because of that.

My Grade: B

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