With the recent success of Eddie Murphy’s brilliant Rudy Ray Moore biopic Dolemite is My Name, Netflix has confidently decided to announced another sequel to Murphy’s flagship franchise, Beverly Hills Cop. A fourth movie in the adventures of Detroit’s most charismatic detective, Axel Foley, has been in and out of development for years. Murphy has always remained committed to one day making another movie, and it seems that now, as he returns to standup and receives awards buzz for his recent turn in Dolemite, is the perfect time.
Excited: Beverly Hills Cop is a classic
The original Beverly Hills Cop movie is a bona-fide classic. It’s not a perfect movie by any means, but Eddie Murphy gives an unforgettable, star-making turn in the lead role and director Martin Brest deftly balances the moments of action with the moments of comedy.
The promise of revisiting that world, and possibly checking in with old favorites like Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggart (John Ashton), sounds like a treat. Even if it ends up being The Force Awakens of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, there will still be some merit in the nostalgia of returning to all these characters.
Worried: The other Beverly Hills Cop sequels pale in comparison to the original
Although Beverly Hills Cop stands as a timeless classic, the sequels left a lot to be desired. The second movie copied too much of what worked from the first one and the third one, while it had a couple of interesting set pieces, had nowhere near as many laugh-out-loud moments as its predecessors.
There’s every chance that the team behind the fourth movie have learned from the mistakes of the second and third films and have some really great ideas for the plot, but the fact that two Beverly Hills Cop sequels have already disappointed fans is still an ominous sign.
Excited: Eddie Murphy is always hilarious as Axel Foley
No matter how low the quality of the Beverly Hills Cop sequels dropped, it was never any less fun to spend another two hours or so with Axel Foley. As a detective who is always putting on characters and making a scene to get into places without a warrant, Axel is the perfect character for Eddie Murphy’s comic talents.
Murphy’s mile-a-minute improvisational skills made the second and third Beverly Hills Cop movies plenty entertaining, despite their uninspired direction and the laziness of their plotting. Murphy’s continuing hilarity in the role of Axel is what ensured the financial success of the mediocre sequels.
Worried: Belated comedy sequels rarely work out
The last Beverly Hills Cop movie was released 25 years ago, in 1994, so the next installment will rival Jurassic World, Blade Runner 2049, and Mad Max: Fury Road for lateness. Sequels to comedies never seem to work out, because comedies, by their nature, aren’t designed to have sequels.
And it’s even rarer that a belated sequel to a comedy ever pleases fans. Just look at Dumb and Dumber To, Zoolander No. 2, and (to an extent, because it’s admittedly pretty funny) Anchorman 2 – the characters are older, the jokes from the original get rehashed, the energy isn’t the same.
Excited: It’ll take Axel back to Detroit
Over the years, as a fourth Beverly Hills Cop film has been stuck in development hell, Eddie Murphy has revealed the occasional plot detail. One that has persisted is that the new sequel will take Axel Foley back to Detroit. Axel is a Detroit cop who loves his city, but as the title would suggest, the films so far have sent him to Beverly Hills.
The fourth one will take him back to Detroit, perhaps for a homegrown case, and that’ll be an exciting development for the character. It’s new territory, not a rehash of the previous installments, which is more than can be said for a lot of modern sequels.
Worried: Paramount sold the rights to Netflix
The most recent announcement about Beverly Hills Cop 4 was that Paramount had sold the distribution rights to Netflix. This is a little worrying, because when Paramount has sold movies to the streaming giant in the past, it’s been because executives were concerned about its chances at the traditional box office (Annihilation) or their general quality (looking at you, The Cloverfield Paradox).
Either way, the Netflix deal is an indication of Paramount’s lack of faith in the movie before it has even gone into production, which doesn’t exactly bode well, especially since the studio is giving a different Eddie Murphy sequel, Coming 2 America, a theatrical release next year.
Excited: It’ll see the return of hard-R Eddie Murphy
Most of Eddie Murphy’s recent starring vehicles – A Thousand Words, Imagine That, Meet Dave etc. – have sanitized Murphy’s comic style. If you force Murphy to stick to a PG-13 rating, then you clip his comedic wings. Murphy needs the freedom of a hard R rating to really shine, and the Beverly Hills Cop franchise has always provided him with that freedom.
Since the fourth movie is releasing on Netflix and won’t have an obligation to get moviegoers out of their house to a traditional theater, it can pretty much have any rating the filmmakers want. Ergo, Beverly Hills Cop 4 will see the return of hard-R Eddie Murphy.
Worried: Brett Ratner might be involved
Brett Ratner was attached to direct a fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie for years before the recent deal between Paramount and Netflix went through. He’s been replaced in the director’s chair by an up-and-coming duo named Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, but it hasn’t been announced that he’s departed the project, so he could still be on board as a producer.
In addition to being a generally lackluster filmmaker, Ratner is also a terrible human being, having been accused of sexual misconduct and harassment by seven women. Most studios have cut ties with Ratner, so hopefully, Paramount and Netflix will do the same.
Excited: Eddie Murphy is enjoying a comeback
Eddie Murphy has been enjoying a comeback. He’s currently receiving Oscar buzz for his lead performance in Dolemite is My Name, he’s prepping his first standup tour in decades, he’s got a sequel to Coming to America on the way, and he’s finally returning to Saturday Night Live.
The fourth movie in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise will arrive when Murphy’s comeback is in full swing and he’s made his way back to the top. Murphy’s been away for far too long, so it’s great to see that he’s finally back on our screens, and even better that he seems to be sticking around.
Worried: It might tarnish the original’s reputation
When some of the greatest comedies of all time have been given sequels, it becomes impossible to think about the originals without being reminded of the dreadful follow-up. It’s impossible to think of Zoolander, the hysterically absurd parody of the fashion industry, without thinking about its lazy, cash-grabbing sequel.
Beverly Hills Cop’s reputation hasn’t yet been tarnished by its existing sequels, because all three movies were released in quick succession as a trilogy and audiences took it that way. Beverly Hills Cop 4 will face more scrutiny than that. There’s a chance that Beverly Hills Cop 4 won’t be as bad as Dumb and Dumber To, but there’s also a chance that it will.
