THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Just because something has been shelved for so long does not mean it should be left alone. Netflix understood this and capitalized when adapting their own sequel for Beverly Hills Cop in 2024 with Axel F.
PLOT
The film follows the titular Detroit detective Axel Foley who continues to fight crime, this time under the supervision of his friend Jeffrey Friedman as Deputy Chief. After another pursuing chase that led to costly damage, Friedman chooses to retire to protect Foley from being punished. He uses his retirement to encourage Axel to reconnect with his estranged daughter Jane Saunders, as he plans to continue making memories with his own family. In Los Angeles, Jane has become a defense attorney and is defending a young man named Sam Enriquez (Damien Diaz) from a case clamming he was framed for the murder of an undercover officer known as Copeland. When her life is threatened by masked men to drop the case as it is part of a big conspiracy, Billy Rosewood, having become a private investigator after a falling out with his partner John Taggart, alerts Axel that his daughter is in danger. By the time the detective arrives in LA, he doesn’t find his other friend and checks his apartment to figure out where he is. However, he does find other suspicious people looking through his home with the intent to look for something hidden. Before running away, Axel takes a page of Rosewood’s personal organizer to prevent him being found. Being chased by them led to getting arrested at Rodeo Drive. When taking into Beverly Hills’ police department, he does reunite with Taggart and meets his protege Captain Cade Grant who expresses doubt that Copeland was corrupt. Axel also meets Detective Bobby Abbott, Jane's ex boyfriend who she broke up for her personal dislike over cops. When he reunites with his daughter who bails her out, she avoids reconnecting with her due to how he had to move her out of Detroit due to a mafia threatening to execute her and her mom, thus leading to her parents divorcing. However, she agrees to help him find Rosewood as it would benefit her case. They go to a parking garage and identify Copeland's car, but notice there's an SD card missing from a surveillance camera, likely meaning Rosewood took it. When investigating a social club, they find the same men who first chased him alongside Grant, which only confirms Axel's suspicion to be corrupt. Grant however keeps his cover by claiming he personally hired people to find Billy for stealing evidence that can exonerate Copeland. As they drive down Wilshire Boulevard the next day, they get attacked by masked assailants but are thankfully aided by Abbott nearby. When seeing Taggart, it gets more than personal when sharing his worry over Grant and suspects him to be involved, causing his friend to shut him out as he did with Billy over the case. John also suspends Abbott for disturbing the peace in his heroic efforts. The latter joins the Foleys in their case against Copeland, investigating a mansion based on an address written by Billy in the organizer. With the help of Axel's old friend Serge (Bronson Pichot), they're able to gain access by posing as potential buyers next door. When looking around, Axel does find enough evidence such as powdered boxes and a dented SUV with a cell phone jammer inside. However, he gets spotted on camera which alerts Grant. Believing the evidence won't be enough to convince Taggart, Axel & Abbott visit Enriquez' uncle Chalino (Luis Guzman) who also confirms Grant to have cartel connections and killed Copeland because he was reaching out to Rosewood on wanting to go clean. Just when they get vital information, Grant arrives to frame them both by planting cocaine kilos in Abbott's car. In an interrogation room, Grant himself straight up tells Axel that he gave in to corruption because he feels like he deserves more money than he's already paid for due to his past efforts protecting the city. Shortly after leaving him, the lead protagonist and Abbott break out and hijack a helicopter to escape. They're able to go far until Grant shoots at the rotor as he pursues them, causing them to crash into a golf park. The said commotion causes Taggart to realize the corruption that's going on. Axel & Abbott make haste to a port shipment Chalino told them about, which is where they find Billy held captive. When freeing him and getting the SD card he hid, Axel gets a call from Grant who has abducted his daughter and demands the SD card in exchange for her. With the assist of Jeffrey tracking her phone, the trio of cops arrive at the same mansion from earlier and have a shootout with Grant's goons. Taggart does arrive as their backup, making amends with Billy in the process. The shootout ends when Abbott fatally shoots Grant who was able to injure Axel. With all the recovered evidence, Enriquez' charges are dropped. As Axel recovers from hospitalization, he is finally able to make amends with his daughter. Rosewood & Taggart would be on stakeout to ensure he completes his hospitalization, but the film ends with the lead protagonist convincing his friends to join him out for dinner.
THOUGHTS
Ironically, I first watched the original Beverly Hills Cop trilogy on Netflix in 2014, as I went through an Eddie Murphy binge that year. Remembering this, it felt like destiny for the streaming studio to helm this legacy sequel if not Paramount. As much as I know this would've been a great experience in theaters, it doesn't take away the fact Director Mark Molloy made a blast of an action comedy. This is another case where the balance is just right with both genres because with chase and shootout being well edited, you're still laughing your ass off to the hilarity ensued by Eddie Murphy. He still has the charm and cheekiness that has defined the character Axel for the past 40 years as of the release of this entry and even though it's not as effective as before to win people over, you still respect him for sticking what he knows. Only he can casually steal a golf cart from Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) after just surviving a helicopter crash and look cool while doing it. Considering there was a 30 year gap between this film and the third, the world has changed while he hasn't. He still loves being a relentless risk taker when on the job because that is what has helped him succeed and this entry was another reminder of his determination. Not only does he embrace this to save his friend, but also put in an effort to reconnect with his daughter. Seeing this new journey was a way to tell audiences it's never too late to change things up as long as you respect the past which is exactly what favors the protagonist in the long haul. This is the dynamic Axel has with his daughter Jane who had a hard time accepting her dad was solely trying to protect her when moving her out of Detroit. Taylour Paige makes her quite grounded of all characters as she is driven in her own right. She's not prepared for danger the way her dad is, but it doesn't completely stop her from doing the right thing. She hated her dad for the most part because she couldn't stand how his good intentions led to him and her mom separating. She took it personal to the point where it affected her relationship with Abbott. It wasn't him getting shot that helped her accept where his heart was, but seeing how they have a common mindset when on the job that led to her understanding he was in the right. Off of that, it's a relief amends were made because lord knows what could've been done differently on that end. Joseph Gordon Levitt fit into the mold as well because he did a great job portraying Abbott as he's got his own diligence where he is able to understand how both sides feel between the Foleys, due to having similar daddy issues. The fact that he was able to find amends with his own dad, Axel knew it would never be too late for Jane to forgive him. Looking back, it does seem clear she and Abbott were a good pair for their expression towards commitment and it wouldn't be a surprise for this case to bring them back together intimately. We all love Murphy for stealing every scene he was in, but he's not the only returning actor we're glad to see. I was so happy to see Paul Reiser to return as Jeff who had huge growth from being in such awe of Foley's methods to thinking realistic on there are consequences to not do anything by the book. He fills in the shoes left behind by the mentor Todd while still being a helpful friend which he proves in more thing. I mean you're not just a random person if he's willing to retire to protect you and help you find your daughter. And of course, there was no way this entry would work if Judge Reinhold were to not return with John Ashton and thankfully, we got what we wanted because the latter's absence in the third film was monumentally upsetting. They still have a great dynamic as Rosewood & Taggart respectively for still having the dynamic that's defined them as well. Taggart is sadly too dense to notice corruption would go down under his watch, yet still means well when it comes to protecting the law. Rosewood is called to action more than ever here to the point where he got held hostage and still held his own whatever the scenario. I still laugh that they told the henchmen to freeze after just shooting them down, a nod to a similar act he had in the first film's climax. At least he also made amends with his friends before it was too late. Dirty cops ain't new to the genre, but they're always intriguing to witness and Kevin Bacon keeps that ball rolling as Grant. There is a fair amount of flair for a villain that thinks he is in the right with illegal activities. The guy felt that he deserved his flowers for the physical pain he went through, which sounds realistic except you shouldn't expect that and that is where he differs from Foley. Axel is not the guy who wants anything in return while Grant takes and disguises it as if he earned when he actually doesn't. It is people like him that destroy society as we know it and seeing the protagonists take him down proves it is still possible to overcome evil. And yeah it's obvious the cycle doesn't end since there'll always be someone to fill the slot but as long as good people like Foley are around, the odds won't always be in the opposing favor. This film definitely reached my expectations, but there were some conflicting moments that could've been done better. For example, I don't see the problem for Foley to be upfront with Officer Mike Woody (Kyle S More) about why he wanted to go to the hockey game. There is no wrong admitting there was a lead he had and needed help. And it was so out of pocket for him to point out Jeff has beef with his grandchildren when he has his own disconnection wth Jane he ends up fixing. And am I the only one who will admit Jeff tracking Jane's phone took a record of 5 seconds. He had someone else at the station o it for him and found it so fast as if he always was when we know damn well that ain't true. The one time this movie should've been realistic, it was for this case because I'm sure it would've taken at least 30 seconds to track the phone from Detroit to LA. Rosewood means well, but it's totally on him to get Jane involved with the case and he should've went to someone else without second thought and he could've waited for Axel to to arrive before continuing to investigate because he could've avoided abduction. I'm even surprised Foley survived both a helicopter and a meter car crash without a concussion. He got pepper sprayed on the latter so that's a big ass miracle when you think about it. I know we need a moment to recount Foley's past adventures for nostalgic purposes, but I don't see the point of Abbott asking Axel of his history with Taggart if he already read his file. The only mistake Grant makes that prevents him from being ahead was not having a guard watch over Axel in the interrogation room. If he didn't want him to escape, that would've worked for sure. And lastly, I feel like Rosewood & Taggart would've had a better stakeout if they just stayed inside the hospital to ensure Foley properly finished his hospitalization. Other than that, this movie was still quite a ball. In short, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is an excellent sequel for getting it right on all the fun we've been missing. If you enjoyed the original trilogy, see this as soon as possible.
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