I wasn't born in the 80s but I grew up watching movies from the period and there was a plethora of cop movies. There are almost as many Police Academy films as days in the week, but the undoubted king of the genre was Beverley Hills Cop.
The Eddie Murphy starring trilogy is an era-defining set of films, and Murphy's Axel Foley is arguably his most iconic character (sorry Donkey). That's why we're so excited to say that Netflix is bringing him back! They just dropped the trailer for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and I for one cannot wait.
Now Murphy created a sequel to one of his other classic movies, Coming to America, in 2021 which was less than well-received but my hopes are high for this revival. The trailer reveals a reunion of the old gang with Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggart (John Ashton) back in the saddle. It also demonstrates exactly how ageless Eddie Murphy is, he looks the same as he did in 1984!
Plot-wise, all we really have to go on is the official synopsis from Netflix: "Detective Axel Foley is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter’s life is threatened, she and Foley team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood and John Taggart to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy.”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt isn't the only new addition to the franchise either, Kevin Bacon also appears in the trailer as a high-ranking establishment type sceptical of Foley's unorthodox methods. In my opinion, he has all the hallmarks of a villain.
But listen, as long as a banana gets shoved up the exhaust of a car, I'm in. We don't need to worry about a lacklustre rehash either as there's quality behind the camera too. The screenplay comes courtesy of Will Beal and duo Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten who wrote the superb The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent which breathed life into Nicolas Cage's classic films.
In terms of release date, we're not quite sure when precisely the movie will hit one of the best streaming services, but the trailer promises Summer 2024.
