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Review: It's been four decades since Eddie Murphy first played Detective Axel Foley in the box office smash ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ which was followed by an amped-up sequel in 1987 and 1994’s ‘Beverly Hills Cop III,’ suggesting the franchise had run its course. Now, in the real-time sequel ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,’ Murphy returns as Axel Foley, whose maverick status now rubs up against changing attitudes.
The story revolves around Axel leaving his native Detroit once again to help solve a case in Beverly Hills, this time involving his lawyer daughter Jane (Taylour Paige). Jane finds herself in trouble after taking on a case investigating a dirty cop, and the estranged relationship between father and daughter adds a touchy-feely aspect to the square peg in a round hole situation. Axel’s glib jokes fail to impress Jane or the progressive Bobby, a new detective in the Beverly Hills police department, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Gordon-Levitt's character serves as a decent foil for Foley, though it isn’t long before due process is thrown out the window and the film returns to its retro roots of action-packed scenes and quick justice.
Debut director Mark Molloy handles everything with proficiency, ensuring that every scene references something from the earlier movies, much to the delight of fans. The chases, including Foley’s entry scene and the helicopter pursuit with Detective Bobby, are well executed with the same humor and fun, ensuring there’s never a dull moment. However, the story by Will Beall and the screenplay by Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten is predictable and linear, lacking the engaging twists of the original films.
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