Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Trailer Gives Hope

Movies

Better check your tailpipe for bananas because Axel Foley is back! Today, Netflix released a trailer for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, the fourth film in the action-comedy series that began in 1984. This time, Axel will head from Detroit to Beverly Hills to protect his daughter, who finds herself in some kind of danger that requires help from her fast-talking and faster-shooting dad. Eddie Murphy returns as the iconic Axel Foley, with Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Bronson Pinchot, and Paul Reiser also back; they’re joined by Taylour Paige, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Kevin Bacon. Written by Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten and directed by Mark Molloy, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F will arrive on Netflix sometime in 2024. You can see the trailer below:

I’m calling it now: Kevin Bacon is going to be the villain.

This is one of those movies I can’t help getting my hopes up for despite knowing it’s got a ton working against it. I love Beverly Hills Cop; it’s my favorite Eddie Murphy movie, and he’s made some classics. It married action and comedy better than perhaps any other movie (along with Midnight Run, which was, not coincidentally, also directed by Martin Brest); those movies almost always fall on one side more than the other, but Beverly Hills Cop was consistently hilarious with hard, gritty action, and it worked. I also love Beverly Hills Cop 2, which maintained that action-comedy balance under new director Tony Scott; I don’t remember the third one much. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F has a lot to live up to, and it’s coming from a novice director and writers who haven’t done much that’s any good. There’s also the over-sensitivity of the modern era, which doesn’t mesh well with a character like Axel Foley; you can’t have a Beverly Hills Cop movie that feels neutered, and there’s a good chance this one will be.

On the plus side, the Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F trailer looks great. The focus is entirely on Axel, which is as it should be. This could be another bait and switch, with his daughter waiting in the wings to be the movie’s real hero, but if this is a good representation of the film, then Axel will be front and center. Joseph Gordon-Levitt condescending to him is the perfect set-up for a new generation of California snobs who think they’re more evolved than Axel getting shown up by an uncouth out-of-towner who’s a lot smarter than they think he is. There’s only a quick glimpse of Rosewood and Taggert, but I smiled wide seeing the three of them in a car again. I also love that Serge is back, even if it’ll probably just be a bit part. (“Ack-well!”) I don’t care for the legendary theme song devolving into stupid rap, but maybe that’s just for the trailer. If Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F ends up being great, or even just good, Hollywood and I will be cool for at least… let’s give it forty-eight hours.

Also, for the love of God, please don’t make another 48 Hrs.