Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)    Netflix/Action-Comedy    RT: 118 minutes    Rated R (language throughout, violence, brief drug use)    Director: Mark Molloy    Screenplay: Will Beall, Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten    Music: Lorne Balfe    Cinematography: Edu Grau    Release date: July 3, 2024 (US, Netflix)    Cast: Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, Kevin Bacon, Luis Guzman, Damien Diaz, Mark Pellegrino, Kyle S. More, Nasim Pedrad.

Rating: ***  

 I’m not a fan of belated sequels. They tend to be pointless and unnecessary. Recent examples include The Exorcist: Believer, Coming 2 America and the recent Ghostbusters movies. I’m not holding out too much hope for the upcoming Beetlejuice sequel either. 

 It’s been 40 years since Axel Foley burst onto the scene in Beverly Hills Cop. It’s been 30 years since the abysmal Beverly Hills Cop III. There’s been talk of a fourth BHC film for years starting in the mid-90s, but it never materialized. After many false starts, it’s finally a done deal. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F made its debut on Netflix last week. I had mixed feelings. I wanted to see it, but I had some reservations. It had been so long since the last decent BHC movie, I wasn’t sure it would pan out, especially after so much time had passed. At the very least, I hoped it would be better than III, not that it’s a very high bar.

 Are you ready for some good news? Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is actually pretty good. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Eddie Murphy returns as Axel Foley, the streetwise Detroit cop with a penchant for mayhem. He may be older, but he’s no less reckless in his relentless pursuit of lawbreakers. The opening sequence has him foiling a robbery at a hockey game. He chases one of the perps through the streets in a snow plow. Mayhem and property damage ensue. Many cars get wrecked. But Axel gets his man.

 Fans will be pleased to know several original cast members return for this fourth outing. Paul Reiser is back as Axel’s former partner Jeffrey. He’s now the Deputy Chief which means he has to deal with the fallout from Axel’s latest escapade. In a final act of loyalty, he falls on his sword when they order him to fire his friend. He suggests Axel to do the same (retire, that is). It would give him a chance to reconnect with his estranged daughter Jane (Paige, Zola), a defense attorney residing in Beverly Hills. He, of course, wants to remain on the job.

 One night, Axel gets a call from his pal Billy Rosewood (Reinhold, The Santa Clause) telling him Jane is in danger. It has to do with a new client, a young Latino man accused of killing a cop. He claims he was framed for it. Some bad people have threatened to kill her if she doesn’t drop the case. Axel is on the first plane to Beverly Hills. By the time he arrives, Billy is MIA.

 Axel, of course, gets arrested almost immediately for doing what he does best, disturbing the peace and destruction of property, he’s taken to BHPD where he demands to speak with Taggart (Ashton, Midnight Run), unretired and now the Chief. He calls Jane to come bail him out. Needless to say, she’s less than thrilled to see her father. She agrees, however, to work with him in exonerating her client.

 Axel is looking for a missing SD card. It contains evidence of the accused killer’s innocence. It will also lead him to Billy. The bad guys, a drug cartel, are after it too. They work for the main villain, corrupt narcotics cop Cade Grant (Bacon, Mystic River). Axel pegs him for a bad guy right away. What cop can afford to wear Gucci shoes and a Rolex?

 I was curious about who would direct Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. I was hoping for Martin Brest who helmed the first one, but he hasn’t made a movie since the 2003 meg-bomb Gigli. I knew the late Tony Scott (Beverly Hills Cop II) couldn’t come back and John Landis (BHC III) wouldn’t. The man behind the camera for this fourth outing is Mark Molloy. It’s his first feature film. Previously, he directed commercials for Apple. He replaced Adil & Bilall (Bad Boys III & IV) who wanted to focus on the cancelled DC movie Batgirl. He does a pretty decent job. The action scenes are well-orchestrated and the comedy mostly lands. The father-daughter drama is an uneasy fit. It doesn’t quite mesh with the rest of the movie.

 The cast, especially those returning after all these years, does a fine job. It was good seeing the old gang back together although I wish there had been more scenes with Rosewood and Taggart. They still have amazing chemistry. Murphy looks like he’s enjoying himself. Bronson Pinchot (Perfect Strangers) makes a return appearance as Serge; unfortunately, he’s not given much to do. Joseph Gordon-Levitt joins the cast as Bobby Abbott, the BHPD detective (and Jane’s ex-boyfriend) who helps Axel make his case against Cade. Bacon makes a great sleazy bad guy, but is there anything the actor can’t do?

 I thoroughly enjoyed Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. It did its job. I was entertained. What more can you ask for? I wasn’t expecting art. All I wanted was a better BHC movie than the last one. I got it and a little more.