High class crime
‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ continues Detroit cop’s hijinks in Los Angeles
One of film’s most beloved and unorthodox police detectives is back on his beat, 30 years since audiences last saw him take down crime in Los Angeles’ most famous ZIP code. Eddie Murphy (“You People,” 2023) stars in the brand new action-comedy “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” premiering Wednesday, July 3, on Netflix.
Murphy reprises his role as Det. Axel Foley — who first made his iconic appearance in 1984’s “Beverly Hills Cop,” which was followed up by sequels in 1987 and 1994 — a Detroit police officer whose work often takes him to sunny California and the glamorous, storied suburb of Beverly Hills to chase down drug lords, weapons kingpins and counterfeiting rings.
Joining Axel yet again is his trusty partner, Lt. Billy Rosewood, portrayed by Judge Reinhold (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” 1982). Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Mr. Corman”) is Bobby Abbott, a detective with the Beverly Hills Police Department and ex-boyfriend of Axel’s estranged daughter, Jane (Taylour Paige, “Zola,” 2020).
So, what brings Axel back to the 90210 from his home in the Motor City this time, four decades since his first mayhem-filled assignment? Axel’s daughter Jane, a criminal defence attorney, receives a threat to her life, prompting her father to team up with old and new partners and pin down the danger.
In an official trailer for the film, Axel, Billy and Bobby drive chaos all over Beverly Hills, from crash landing a helicopter on a golf course, to chasing down bad guys in a snow plow and steering a cargo truck through a palatial home’s sitting room. The crimefighting crew will get to the bottom of this case at any cost.
Reprising their roles from previous Beverly Hills Cop franchise films are Paul Reiser (“Mad About You”) as Police Chief Jeffrey Friedman; John Ashton (“Gone Baby Gone,” 2007) as Sgt. John Taggart; and Bronson Pinchot (“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”) as former foe, Serge.
Joining the cast in this instalment is Kevin Bacon (“Leave the World Behind,” 2023) as Capt. Grant, who welcomes Axel back to the force — but can he be trusted? Axel has dealt with crooked cops before, so it wouldn’t be the first time he found corruption went all the way to the top.
In a recent appearance on “The Daily Show,” Bacon told Jordan Klepper, “I’m not afraid of being a bad guy in the movie,” summing up his philosophy on being hated on screen by saying, “to me, it’s just great parts and I just want to be them. And I’m exorcizing some demons.”
A newcomer to the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, Gordon-Levitt talked to Empire about his role in the upcoming film, saying, “this character is a bit straight-laced — I am an actual Beverly Hills cop, whereas Axel Foley is a cop from Detroit who finds himself in Beverly Hills — but he’s not a simple straight man.”
Anyone going toe-to-toe with Murphy is the straight man by default, but Gordon-Levitt shared that his character isn’t just there to question Axel’s hijinks. “I also get my licks in. I wouldn’t be living up to this crazy opportunity if I wasn’t going to have a few myself. We got to do some really fun stuff.”
Murphy’s TV and film career has spanned over 40 years, with memorable performances across nearly every genre in entertainment — not to mention his music career’s peak at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his 1985 single, “Party All the Time.” Murphy was an instant star, credited with revitalizing the sketch-comedy staple “Saturday Night Live” during his four season tenure on the show from 1980 to 1984.
Murphy’s success on TV and in wildly popular stand-up comedy specials “Delirious” (1983) and “Eddie Murphy Raw” (1987) led to a blockbuster film career in the 1980s. Beyond the Beverly Hills Cop films, Murphy starred in hits like 1983’s “Trading Places” and “Coming to America” in 1988, before courting a younger audience in the following decades with the Nutty Professor film series and his voice acting work as the sidekick in animated film classics like “Mulan” in 1999 and the Shrek films.
After making a succession of light-hearted family films in the new millennium, Murphy experienced a career renaissance with a best actor nomination at the Golden Globe Awards for his portrayal of blaxploitation film star Rudy Ray Moore in 2019’s “Dolemite Is My Name.” Now, Murphy is reintroducing his comedy blockbuster work to the fans he made in the last 20 years of his career by reviving his past work in sequels like the upcoming “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” and 2021’s “Coming 2 America.”
Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2020 about his perspective now on choosing new projects, Murphy said, “I had a little crossroads where it was like, it’s time to back off, and sit on the couch and just be Dad. Now, I just want to do stuff where there’s an emotional hook, and it’s something that I’m really into, and not just doing it because, you know, somebody flashed a big dollar sign in front of you.”
Strap yourself in for a wild ride chasing bad guys all over L.A. when “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” premieres on Netflix Wednesday, July 3.