Director of “Axel F” talks about the sequel to “Eddie Murphy”

©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

First released in 1984, Martin Brest’s Beverly Hills Cop was one of the defining films of the decade. It was a major step to stardom for Eddie Murphy (along with 48 Hrs. and Traders). Not only did the film spawn two sequels over the next decade, it also set a standard for action comedies that still stands today. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is the long-overdue fourth installment in the series and features a director to keep an eye on: Mark Molloy.

After beginning his career directing commercials for brands such as Nike, Google and Apple, Molloy made his film debut with “Axel F.” The film drew heavily on the first two “Beverly Hills Cop” films, but further advanced the story of the eponymous detective, who is now the father of an equally ambitious but estranged daughter (played by “Zola” hit star Taylor Paige).

While Netflix celebrates its 40th birthday,^th anniversary of the original of Brest with this sequel, Molloy spoke with diversity about how he was inspired by the action cinema world of the 1980s and how he created the larger-than-life scenes of his new film, and how the Beverly Hills he saw in that highly esteemed first film set the stage for the launch of his career as a feature film director.

The first two minutes of the film feature both Bob Seger’s “Shakedown” and Glenn Frey’s “The Heat Is On.” In what has become a tradition of “legacyquels,” how did you define the references so that a viewer who knows the films can identify them without having to be aware of each one?

Those things weren’t in the script, but the essence of those ’80s action comedies was in the script. I liked that. I saw how confident he was in his DNA as a Beverly Hills Cop movie. And that’s how I sold the movie to Jerry Bruckheimer. I thought, ‘I want to do an ’80s action comedy – I want to go back to the well.’ And I think movies from that era were just a little more real, honest, and humble. Beverly Hills Cop I and II were tough. I never actually saw Beverly Hills Cop III.

I’d say you’re feeling better.

I said to Jerry, “I’ve never seen Beverly Hills Cop III.” He said, “Don’t worry.” But what I liked was not only the legacy, but the inspiration points that (directors) Marty (Brest) and Tony (Scott) gave me as a starting point. I really wanted to honor them, but also find a way to push things further. It’s been 40 years since Beverly Hills Cop, so I wanted to remind an audience that knew Beverly Hills Cop, but also appeal to a new audience through those elements.

Obviously the cast is a big part of it. Were all of the original characters returning already in the script?

Yes. We then played with their roles in the script, but one of the first things I did was I said, “I want to meet the entire original cast and give them a clear idea of ​​my vision from the top.” What really attracted me to the script was not just Axel’s character, but all of these characters. It’s been 40 years. It’s fun to think about how their lives and relationships have evolved and how much fun we can have with that. Axel Foley is such a big character, but it’s his relationship with all of these other characters that really makes Beverly Hills Cop special.

Eddie had obviously been filming Coming to America 2 at the same time as this film. What were his ideas and yours, and how did you come to an agreement?

I didn’t want to make a movie “just because.” I thought, “What is this saying that we don’t know about the franchise or the character?” And I had never seen Axel vulnerable before and that was really interesting to me, given the time that had passed since we last saw his character. And then working with Eddie and finding out that Axel is still causing chaos – the shit magnet in Detroit City that he is – but as a father, that really drew me in. So I really talked to Eddie about it a lot in the beginning; luckily Eddie has a lot of kids, so he knows a lot about what it’s like to be a father. But even after all these years, Eddie had such a strong sense of Axel’s character in his head. He was so attuned to who that character was and how he deals with everything, so it was really inspiring for me as a director to work with an actor. And Eddie said to me it was his most important character he’d ever played. He was just so into it.

Taylor Paige is so good as Jane, Axel’s daughter – a perfect reflection of all the different things that make up Eddie’s character. How did you and the two of you find the right dimension for their relationship?

I saw Taylor in Zola and she was my first choice from the beginning. I saw all those scenes where they’re in a car together and I thought, ‘I have to bring that to life.’ And it wasn’t about making jokes or creating a clone of Axel. She’s spent her whole life with this guy. He just does whatever he wants. So I tried to find someone who was a great contrast to Axel and when I saw a sparkle in her eye and a stoic demeanor, I thought, ‘Taylour can take on Eddie.’ And then I just kept pushing her until we got her. She’s incredible.

There’s a lot of action in the film: a snow plow races through the streets of Detroit. Then there’s a chase in the middle of Melrose. After that there’s a helicopter chase in downtown Los Angeles. How much of this destruction were you able to actually film?

First of all, Will Beall did a great job writing those action scenes. But when I pitched Jerry, my pitch to Netflix was, “I want to do everything on camera.” There are a lot of movies these days with so much CGI and cameras flying around and everything that that sense of danger and stakes goes out the window – everything feels a little bit perfect. Nobody makes mistakes anymore, and I love mistakes. I was very inspired by those great action sequences of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s where you’re on the edge of your seat. … It’s much more emotive because you’re like, “Shit, I think the camera’s going to get hit!” or something goes wrong. It was tough – much tougher than doing a green screen. But we did everything for real – we flew helicopters down the street. We destroyed a million cars in Detroit. All the driving sequences: they’re all real. I just wanted to bring back that toughness and honesty that we know from those movies and give the audience something a little bit different.

Were the sequences created by Will already very Los Angeles-centric?

Some of it was on paper, but I was adamant that LA should be a character. I remember the first time I saw Beverly Hills Cop. I was a little boy in Australia and that world of Beverly Hills seemed so exotic to me. Tony did that incredibly well (also) in Beverly Hills Cop II – he just painted LA with that golden light and sun, and there’s not as much smog these days as there was back then. But there’s also Detroit and LA, and that’s a big part of the narrative too. Even when we were scouting locations, I drove out of Detroit and the next day I was on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and I thought, “These are two of the most contrasting places in America.” So I really wanted to bring that into the narrative because I think it’s a big part of that fish-out-of-water story.

What visual palette did you use to create the 80s style?

Movies like Beverly Hills Cop, To Live and Die in LA, Thief – I just wanted to go back to them, to that honesty. We shot everything with these old zooms, the same ones they probably would have used back then. So it was just about keeping things really simple, making a succinct narrative and framing LA in a really beautiful way. Those images of LA with the palm trees and a bit of smog – that texture in the air and the harsh sunlight coming down – are seared into my mind. I wanted to go back to all of that, simple but beautiful.

You commissioned Lorne Balfe to score the film, which is wonderfully reminiscent of Harold Faltermeyer’s original music. What plan did you develop to use these iconic themes and then determine where you needed to update them?

It’s one thing to be asked to direct “Beverly Hills Cop,” but then you have “Axel F.” It’s this golden gem that someone gives you and says, “…and you can use this in your movie.” The entire soundtrack of the first two movies is so brilliant. What Harold (Faltermeyer) did in those first two movies is brilliant. I felt so honored to be able to use that. And then how to take the essence of it but still develop it into something that audiences haven’t heard before. And Lorne did such an incredible job. There are some great moments, like when they’re walking along the docks in LA, where you have a score in the back of your mind that fits perfectly. I had the scores of the original two movies with me on set the whole time and would occasionally just play them on set while we were shooting them. And then we used those first two soundtracks as a starting point.

This part was decades in the making before it was finished. How much did Eddie feel like this was a cathartic story for this character, and how much did it make him think, “I could play this character until I’m 85 years old”?

The reason it didn’t get made is because the script wasn’t right. And that’s the genius of being able to work with Jerry Bruckheimer, because Jerry got the script right, and that’s how Eddie came on board, and that’s why I’m on board. And I think that’s going to be necessary again. Eddie has the utmost respect for this character, and so it’s going to take a great script to get this back on track.