In recent years, even Beverly Hills Cop fans have hardly believed in a new installment in the Eddie Murphy series. No wonder, since part 3 was 30 years ago and reports of plans for another sequel have constantly come to nothing.
Hollywood has been struggling with Beverly Hills Cop 4 for a good 20 years. Then Netflix came along, pulled the project out of production hell and, after the first announcement in 2019, actually released it this year. And the best is yet to come: Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. turned out really well!
Beverly Hills Cop 4 thrills with Eddie Murphy and a mix of nostalgia and modernity
The biggest plus point of the new part is Eddie Murphy. He embodies his star role so fresh, energetic and in a good moodas if only a few years had passed since part 3. As Detective Axel Foley, the star whirls through the film with incredible charisma, so that the rather thin plot hardly stands out negatively.
Murphy not only scores with his comedy timing at his best, but also shines in more serious moments that show that the developments of the past decades have not left Axel Foley unscathed. However, the main actor does not put himself in the foreground, but fits perfectly into the larger cast of the film.
Netflix
Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley in the fourth Beverly Hills Cop film
While Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. brings back references to previous films, familiar faces and iconic elements such as the music, The fourth part is not stuck in mere nostalgia and fan service. Instead, fresh members of the cast such as Taylour Paige as Axel’s daughter Jane or Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Detective Bobby Abbott turn out to be valuable new additions.
With the ideal mix of retro charm and modern flair, director Mark Molloy’s fourth installment brings a well-known cult brand into the here and now.
Like the Bad Boys sequels: Beverly Hills Cop 4 looks like powerful cinema action
The most significant thing about Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. is the jump from the big screen to the smaller streaming format. Since Netflix made the action film, there were doubts beforehand as to whether we would get a carelessly shot sequel with the typically clumsy “Netflix look”.
Fortunately, the fourth Beverly Hills Cop has almost nothing to do with the flat digitality of unfilms like Unfrosted or CGI hellspawn like Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon films. Instead, The new part boasts big action set piecesfor example a destructive truck chase through the streets of Detroit or daring helicopter maneuvers through Los Angeles up to the final shootout escalation in a villa.
Beverly Hills Cop: Alex F. looks and sounds like the latest action blockbusters like Bad Boys 4: Ride or Die in the cinema – and that is probably the biggest compliment I can give Netflix.