Movie Info
Movie Name: Beverly Hills Cop
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Comedy
Release Date(s): December 5, 1984
MPAA Rating: R
Classy!
Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is a street smart cop from Detroit. When his best friend Mikey Tandino (James Russo) is killed on a visit to Detroit, Axel follows the trail back to an art dealer named Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff) in L.A. With the help of his friend Jenny (Lisa Eilbacher), Axel seeks proof of Mikey’s murder and finds himself battling the local police led by Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox) with Detective Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton) on his trail. Axel’s smarts can only last him so long and to stop Maitland is going to take teamwork.
Directed by Martin Brest, Beverly Hills Cop was a runaway hit and helped officially make a leading star Eddie Murphy. The movie was well received by critics and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (losing to Places in the Heart).
You guys are fun!
Beverly Hills Cop is quite smart. The movie does a great job finding the balance between smart comedy (mostly headlined by Murphy) and a decent police story. The movie’s balance is key and this film in the series gets it 100% right. It doesn’t feel like it panders to either genre and
Eddie Murphy is awesome as Axel. He could easy come off as annoying, but here, he has a sort of charm. Despite often making fools of those around him, he still can recognize that sometime respect is needed and deserved (it just happens to be rarely). The character also is backed by some fun supporting characters with Reinhold, Ashton, Cox, Eilbacher, and Paul Reiser. Berkhoff plays a good villainous character and has multiple times since. There is a blink-and-you’ll miss him cameo by Damon Wayans as a hotel worker (who gives Foley the bananas) and Bronson Pinchot’s cameo as Serge was good enough to have him brought back for Beverly Hills Cop III.
A O.K. in L.A.!
Despite mostly being a comedy, the movie has a lot of action. From the beginning street chase in Detroit to the shoot out at the end of the film, there are a number of good action sequences in the film. The movie’s set-up and tone (along with Murphy’s other movie 48 Hrs. which is a buddy movie) really set the scene for other big action comedies like Die Hard and the Lethal Weapon series. Beverly Hills Cop is really the forerunner for them and does a great job with the balance.
Beverly Hills Cop is a great example of a fun, smart, and action filled movie. The film holds up well and it is pretty amazing to think how Eddie Murphy could go from a smart film like this to most of the things he currently makes. Beverly Hills Cop was followed by Beverly Hills Cop II in 1987.
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