Daddy Daughter Bonding Makes Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Solid

Did you know the original studio for Beverly Hills Cop wanted this franchise to be a cop drama with humor vehicle for Sylvester Stallone?  That’s right! However, Stallone had strong opinions about the tone and story, preferring a more high-octane version than the action comedy the studio desired.

Thankfully for us, Stallone turned it down and we got then Saturday Night Live superstar Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley changing the action comedy landscape forever.  Forty years later, Murphy is back.  This time, Foley is on Netflix with the fourth iteration of this beloved franchise still kicking butts and taking names. Axel F may be a little older, but he’s also a little wiser, a Dad and still looking out for his partners in crime Billy (Judge Reinhold) and Taggert (John Ashton).

If you are a mega fan of the first Beverly Hills Cop, you will be in hog heaven with this one. Not only are there numerous easter egg throwbacks with the soundtrack, locations, famous scenes and dialogue, but we witness Axel become rooted in attempts to repair relations with his estranged daughter Jane (Taylour Paige). Joining the cast are Kevin Bacon as the dastardly swaggy Grant and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jane’s former love interest and new sidekick for Murphy.

The film wastes no time getting right into the heart of the matter with the action stepping all the way up with a no CGI helicopter sequence making my heart skip a few beats. But, at the heart of the action comedy is the connection between Murphy and Paige illustrating no matter how invincible Axel may be on the streets of Detroit and Beverly Hills, being a Dad is on the job training that never ends providing the best reward one could ever ask for.