SURE, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, the fourth instalment in the 80s action-comedy franchise, is formulaic and jaded, but if you are hankering after something with a dose of nostalgic overtones, Netflix will see you out of a hole with this one.
Eddie Murphy is back as iconic unorthodox cop Axel Foley. He teams up here with some old pals in the soulless celebrity melting pot synonymous with Hollywood, high-end luxury lifestyles, tacky tourist attractions, and designer pooches.
Axel is an out of place, gung-ho Detroit lawman that doesn’t play by the rules or do things by the book. Beverly Hills doesn’t know what hit it when the overzealous, all grinning Foley returns to its streets to tear it up for old time’s sake, albeit at a slower and less toothsome pace than before.
A better watch than Beverly Hills Cop 3, which director Mark Molloy pokes fun at in one scene, it even comes with that catchy electronic instrumental theme tune by German musician Harold Faltermeyer to send the sentimental feel-good metre through the roof.
Foley (Murphy) is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter’s life is threatened, she (Taylour Paige) and Foley team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy.
I could pick flaws in the latest Beverly Hills Cop movie but this dewy-eyed old fart was too busy reminiscing and grinning gleefully to take offence at its many glaring faux pas.
If you are looking for original and groundbreaking cinema, you are not going to find it here. However, if you are in the market for a fun and entertaining distraction that is brimming over with dad jokes and wistful feels aplenty, Axel is most definitely your boy.
(3/5)
