Nostalgia is a powerful tool for filmmakers these days. The onslaught of legacy sequels — mostly of hit movies from the 1980s that haven’t aged as well as one would hope — has been a crap shoot for the box office.
When done well, nostalgia can make an average movie an excellent film in its own right. In some cases, these sequels surpass the originals and become one of the best films of the year. Just look at “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Creed.”
Other times, the nostalgia is a crutch holding up a terrible movie. And sometimes those moments of, “Hey, remember this?” not only ruin the sequel but retroactively make the original seem worse than your childhood self remembers. We’re looking at you, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
But what usually happens is a blend of the two, some great nostalgic moments and some that make you groan out loud. By the end, it’s still a fun time while being wholly unremarkable. That’s the case with “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” the fourth in the franchise following the third installment 30 years ago.
A surprise but all-around great success in 1984, the first “Beverly Hills Cop” is credited as the first action comedy of its time (though “The Blues Brothers” in 1980 and “48 Hrs.” laid the groundwork, but I digress). It made Eddie Murphy, already a star from his stand-up comedy and “Saturday Night Live” years, into a superstar and a legend.
Save for a couple of exceptions, Murphy’s output lately has been far from the heights he reached during the ’80s, but stepping back into the Adidas sneakers of Axel Foley is just what he — and his fans — needed. No, it’s not as great as the first film, and yet, the integration of nostalgia makes this a welcome addition to the series.
It’s been 30 years since his last adventure in Beverly Hills, and Detective Axel Foley (Murphy) remains a Detroit police detective under the supervision of his friend, Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser), who suggests Axel reconnect with his estranged daughter out in Los Angeles.
That daughter is Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige), a defense attorney who is under the tutelage of Axel’s friend, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), former Beverly Hills Police Officer turned PI. But after Jane and Billy’s lives are threatened by a local mob, Axel has to return to his old stomping grounds.
Teaming up with Jane and her ex-boyfriend, current BH officer Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon Levitt), while also enlisting the help of his old pal John Taggart (John Ashton), Axel is on a mission to uncover a conspiracy within the department and reconnect with Jane before it’s too late.
The bombardment of nostalgia audibly kicks you in the teeth before the movie even starts in earnest as the opening credits role with Murphy driving through Detroit to a Red Wings game as “The Heat Is On,” the Glenn Frey track that served as one of the original film’s theme songs, blares through the speakers. And everyone he passes, young or old, regardless of background, knows Foley by name. Is he really that famous as a street-level detective?
Maybe in Detroit, but not in L.A., where Murphy’s shtick is still in full force as Reiser, Ashton and Reinhold have no choice but to shake their heads at Foley’s antics. Unfortunately, the old gang is not in the movie all that much. Instead, much of the runtime is dedicated to his relationship to his daughter and her ex. Paige and Levitt do a fine job, but their story arcs with Foley are much more earnest, which is not what I want out of a Beverly Hills Cop movie.
Thankfully, the elements that do work — the action and the comedy — are consistent and reliable. No, the stunts are not as impressive and the jokes are not as hilarious as they were in the ’80s, but car chases, shoot-outs and explosions mixed with Murphy’s quick wit and inventive line deliveries can still get me. The formula is followed and the movie is safe, but with the right balance of nostalgia infused, it could be a whole lot worse.