Axel F’ – The Oakland Press
Kevin Bacon as Captain Cade Grant and Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley in “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.” (Photo courtesy of Netflix)
After 30 years, actor and comedian Eddie Murphy reprises his most famous role – Detective Axel Foley of the Detroit Police Department – in “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” premiering on Netflix on Wednesday, July 3.
Foley is a savvy, witty plainclothes detective who likes to get on people’s nerves. In 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop – the first in the film series that made Murphy an international star – Foley goes to Beverly Hills, California, to solve the murder of his friend. In doing so, he finds himself out of his jurisdiction and out of his element – and clashes with the Beverly Hills police, including Captain Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox, 1990’s Total Recall), Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton, 1988’s Midnight Run) and Detective Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold, 1986’s Ruthless People). Despite their different methods, they learn to respect each other and become friends.
The original Cop grossed $234 million on a $13 million budget, making it the highest-grossing film of 1984. Of course, Beverly Hills Cop II followed in 1987. Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box office hit, grossing nearly $300 million on a $27 million budget.
“We have fond memories of those movies – they take us back to a place – and these characters are such a part of that memory,” said “Axel F” director Mark Molloy, making his directorial debut. “At first I had to pinch myself that I got to work with (Murphy). He’s such an icon. I was a fan of everything from (‘Cop’) to ‘Saturday Night Live’ to all of his stand-up. He was just such a figure in my life. It was really incredible to work with. Eddie is often praised for his comedy, but he has incredible range. We have some really emotional scenes and the way he handled those scenes really blew me away.”
In 1994, Beverly Hills Cop III was released. It was the weakest film in the series and was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards: the first for Worst Remake or Sequel, the second for Worst Director for John Landis (Murphy’s collaborator on 1983’s Trading Places and 1988’s Coming to America). Not only critics panned the film, but Murphy himself did too. In interviews over the years, Murphy called the third film “terrible.”
Attempts to make a fourth film had many false starts over 20 to 25 years. In 2013, a spin-off television series was announced and a pilot film was shot, starring Detroit native Brandon T. Jackson (2008’s “Tropic Thunder”) as Axel’s son Aaron. Murphy was a producer and was supposed to make guest appearances. The pilot film was not picked up as a series, but can be viewed on YouTube.
In “Axel F,” Foley returns to Beverly Hills after learning that his daughter Jane (Taylour Paige, “Zola” 2020), a criminal defense attorney, is in grave danger. Foley recruits Taggart (his first appearance since “Beverly Hills Cop II”) and Rosewood (who has appeared in all four films) and they uncover a criminal conspiracy.
“(Murphy) still had such a clear vision for Axel after all these years,” Molloy said. “He came to me and was immediately on board. He knew Axel, even Axel at that point in his life. He told me he was his most important figure. It’s clear that Axel really cares about him.”
Also returning are Paul Reiser, a former “Mad About You” star (who appeared in the first two films as Foley’s partner Jeffrey Friedman, now Foley’s superior at the DPD), and Bronson Pinchot, a former “Perfect Strangers” star who appeared as Serge in the first and third films. Joining the veterans are Kevin Bacon (1984’s “Footloose”) as Captain Cade Grant and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (2010’s “Inception”) as Detective Bobby Abbott, both of the BHPD.
Gil Hill – who was a loyal member of the DPD and later became president of the Detroit City Council and ran in the 2001 Detroit mayoral election but lost to Kwame Kilpatrick – played Foley’s vulgar, hot-tempered and no-nonsense superior, Inspector Douglas Todd, in the first three films. Todd was killed in the third film (Hill’s final film). Hill died in 2016. He was 84 years old.
Detroit native Jerry Bruckheimer (“Top Gun”) produced the first two “Cop” films. He is the producer of “Axel F.” together with Murphy.
“(Murphy) is unique and has a really interesting view of the world around us and creates comedy in every situation he gets into. He finds the comedic side, the ridiculous,” Bruckheimer said. “He’s also a wonderful dramatic actor and combines the two even more in this film because he’s on a quest to help his daughter. It’s an emotional story. The reason our films work when they work is because of the emotion. We know how to bring in action. We’ve done that time and time again throughout my career, but it’s always about the emotion. The fact that this is emotional and comedic and has great action is something I think will resonate with audiences.”
Steve Shaviro, a film professor at Wayne State University, agreed with Bruckheimer.
“It works so well because Murphy is so charismatic and can do so many things on the fly and mix them up. He can be tough, he can be an out-of-control anti-hero, he can be funny – all at the same time,” Shaviro said. “He puts a different spin on the cop who is always pushing things and crossing boundaries but is still a good guy. At one point, Sylvester Stallone (“Rocky”) was considered to be the lead in the first film. Not to disparage Sly, who is a great action hero, but you can’t imagine him delivering as multi-layered a performance as Murphy.”
Molloy wanted “Axel F” to be reminiscent of the original “Cop” and the action films of the 1980s.
“I also wanted to make a film that was very modern and contemporary, but also had nostalgia in it, not just for the films, but for that era of film. If you look back, those films were really very grounded and honest and a little bit gritty, and I wanted to make a film like that about brilliant, larger-than-life characters,” he said. “I wanted to shoot all the action with the camera, not CGI. I wanted there to be a real sense of danger. I was also excited to show a different side of Axel that audiences had never seen before. Who is he now, all these years later, as a cop, as a father, as an agitator? And working with Jerry was an absolute dream. This is my first film. To be given the keys to not only such an iconic franchise, but such a big film, is very humbling… He had my back and believed in my vision the whole time.”
In return, Bruckheimer praised Molloy.
“We’re always looking for someone with a unique perspective and vision,” Bruckheimer said. “(Molloy) can capture the edge of the villain while still capturing the comedy. He understands the emotion. And he has a visual style that’s very important to us. Why do you think audiences are willing to come back to (‘Cop’)? They love Eddie. He’s such a unique talent. You just want to see him on screen.”
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