Beverly Hills Cops: Axel Foley Review

I’m a huge Eddie Murphy fan! I’ve watched everything from “Trading Places” to “Candy Cane Lane.” But the “48 Hours” and “Beverly Hills Cop” movies hold a special place in my heart. “Beverly Hills Cop” is my go-to when I’m bored. So, you can imagine my excitement when I heard they were making another movie with Axel Foley.

I was thrilled to learn that the OG crew—Billie Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Taggart (John Ashton), Det. Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser), and good ole Serge (Bronson Pinchot) with his iconic lemon twist—would be reprising their roles.

Now, I don’t have Netflix since they kicked me off my sister’s account; but I managed to find a way to watch it. Shhh! Don’t tell anyone. Any who, Foley is back in Beverly Hills after his daughter Jane’s life is threatened. She and Axel team up with her ex-boyfriend and his old pals Taggart and Rosewood to uncover a conspiracy and police corruption. How could you not be interested in this?

As the movie started, I crossed my fingers, hoping that after 30 years, it would be just as good as the first two. Yeah, we don’t talk about the third one. The movie kicks off with Foley (Eddie Murphy) at a Detroit Red Wings game with a friend, where he stumbles upon a group of men stealing from the event. True to Beverly Hills Cop fashion, their escape attempt leads to a wild police chase, causing massive damage to the city.

After getting criticized by the police commissioner, Friedman announces his retirement and advises Foley to reconnect with his estranged daughter, Jane Saunders (Taulour Paige), a defense attorney in Los Angeles. Jane works with Rosewood, an ex-police officer turned private investigator and longtime friend of Foley.

One night, Rosewood calls Foley to warn him that his daughter’s life is in danger. Rosewood had been helping Jane with a client she represented, who was accused of killing an undercover cop. Rosewood recovered evidence from the client’s vehicle where the murder took place. Acting on a tip, Rosewood is kidnapped by the cartel.

Foley returns to Beverly Hills. After not hearing back from Rosewood, he heads to his office, only to find a couple of shady individuals rummaging through his things. Foley grabs a page from Rosewood’s schedule and is then chased by the men through Rodeo Drive. The chase ends with a funny moment involving Gen-Zers and their cell phones. 

Foley ends up getting arrested and is taken to the Beverly Hills Police Headquarters, where he meets Detective Bobby Abbot (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who turns out to be Saunders’ ex-boyfriend. Foley is reunited with his old friend Taggart and, with a lot of resistance, his daughter Saunders.

I wasn’t crazy about the Saunders character; she was annoying. I think they could have done something different with her. I get that they needed to show her strained relationship with Foley, but it could have been presented another way. I resent a lot of people, but I don’t go out of my way to have a bad attitude. She was just angry the entire movie, which really rubbed me the wrong way. But I soldiered on.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Foley meets up with Taggart, who introduces him to Captain Cade Grant (Kevin Footloose Bacon). Like Foley, I gave this guy a serious side-eye—he was very suspicious. I don’t know what the pay rates are for a Beverly Hills Police Captain; but he dressed way above his means, sporting luxury apparel and jewelry.

We then learn that Foley’s relationship with his daughter was troubled because he chose work over family. His investigation into the Detroit mafia led to threats against his family. His wife divorced him and took their daughter to L.A. while he stayed in Detroit. The animosity towards him made her drop the Foley name and use her mother’s name instead.

Foley and Saunders worked together because of their shared interest in finding Rosewood and key evidence. As they drive down Wilshire Boulevard, they are ambushed, and Abbot, who is trailing behind, helps Foley and his ex out. This scene was exciting, with a lot of chaos mixed with a few funny moments. From that moment on, it’s a race to find the missing SD card, assumed to be hidden by the abducted P.I. Rosewood.

I was thrilled with how this movie played out. I also loved the nods to the original movie which fans will pick up on right away. Another cool detail was that Eddie Murphy’s real-life daughter, Bria, appeared as one of the Lego cops. If you know, you know. Michael Xavier, Bria’s husband, also appears in the film. He's the officer who gets to tase Foley. Is this movie as good as the first two, not really but it's better than the one we don't talk about.  Overall, this movie has plenty of drama and just the right amount of comedic moments to stay true to the series vibe.

I give this movie 3 out of 5 acorns.