Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024) Movie Review
Synopsis:
Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returns to Beverly Hills. This is when he finds out someone has threatened his daughter, Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige). Foley teams up with Beverly Hills Detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to uncover a conspiracy.
Review:
Comedy veteran Eddie Murphy returns to the streets of Beverly Hills once again.
As with any sequel set decades later, Axel F has a familiar tone for franchise fans.
Axel F’s positives are its good visuals, decent action, and chemistry with most of its actors.
As stated, this film has many callbacks to the original 1984 film.
These include the return of songs such as “The Heat Is On” by Glenn Frey and “Neutron Dance” by The Pointer Sisters.
Axel F is so familiar when compared to the original film that it uses “The Heat is On” during the opening credits. This is something the original also did.
It even includes direct callbacks to certain characters’ actions from the original. Take Foley driving a large truck through downtown Detroit as an example.
Also, returning actor John Ashton’s character, Chief John Taggart, grabs a shotgun from his car. This was also present in the original.
Joining him is the returning Judge Reinhold as Billy Rosewood. Though his appearance is welcome, the actor’s screen time is very limited.
For fans who had wanted to see more of his character, this film may disappoint.
As a whole, these callbacks are welcome compared to Beverly Hills Cop III’s cartoonish antics.
Murphy's return to Beverly Hills is welcome. Despite this, Eddie Murphy and his cohorts seem to wade through the motions.
Axel’s F’s problem is that it fails to innovate beyond its callbacks.
This leads to a disjointed experience by director Mark Molloy, where the story plays second fiddle.
Contributing to the uneven story are Axel’s daughter, Jane Saunders, and Kevin Bacon’s antagonist character, Captain Cade Grant.
Though actress Taylour Paige’s performance is decent, her character is one-note.
Other than scenes of melodrama with Murphy’s Foley, Taylour has little to do.
As an antagonist, Kevin Bacon’s Captain Cade Grant is decent. Despite portraying a generic character, Bacon appears to enjoy his time on screen.
This same rule applies to Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Detective Bobby Abbott.
As a whole, Gordon-Levitt’s performance is above average. Despite this, the script does not give him many further opportunities for development.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F has its share of enjoyable moments.
Its visuals are good, along with some decent action, music, and character interactions.
Where Axel F falters is its sense of familiarity and lack of innovation.
As a whole, these callbacks to the original are welcome. Despite this, the film’s other aspects aren’t as competent.
Axel F’s story falters due to melodrama with Taylour Paige’s Jane Saunders. It also has some generic side characters.
Take Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s characters. Both are capable performers, though the script for them is not.
Despite its overreliance on the past, generic side characters, and story, Axel F should be enjoyable for most Beverly Hills Cop fans.
For some fans, they may have wished for Murphy to hand in his badge for good. Still, it is a decent enough return to Beverly Hills.
Sam’s Action Reaction score:
Characters - 6/10
Story - 6/10
Action - 6/10
Visuals - 7/10
Soundtrack - 7/10
Overall score: 6.4 out of 10
