Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
File:Beverly hills cop axel foley xxlg.jpg Promotional release poster
Directed by	Mark Molloy
Produced by	Jerry Bruckheimer Eddie Murphy Chad Oman
Screenplay by	Will Beall Tom Gormican Kevin Etten
Story by	Will Beall
Based on	Characters by Danilo Bach & Daniel Petrie Jr.
Starring	Eddie Murphy Joseph Gordon-Levitt Taylour Paige Judge Reinhold John Ashton Paul Reiser Bronson Pinchot Kevin Bacon
Music by	Lorne Balfe
Cinematography	Edu Grau
Edited by	Dan Lebental
Distributed by	Netflix
Release dates	July 3, 2024 (2024-07-03)
Running time	115 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$150 million

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is a 2024 American action comedy film directed by Mark Molloy and written by Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten from a story by Beall. Serving as the fourth installment in the Beverly Hills Cop film series and a sequel to Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Eddie Murphy (who also produces) reprises his role as Axel Foley, with Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot reprising their roles from previous films in the franchise, while Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, and Kevin Bacon star in new roles.

The film entered development in the mid-1990s, under Murphy's production company. Various directors and screenwriters were attached over the years, including Brett Ratner and the filmmaking duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, but the project had faced multiple issues and has undergone development hell. In April 2022, Molloy was hired to direct, with production beginning in California that August. The film was released on the streaming service Netflix on July 3, 2024.

Premise

Axel Foley has returned to Beverly Hills after his daughter Jane's life is threatened. She and Axel team up with her ex-boyfriend and his old pals, John Taggart and Billy Rosewood, to uncover a conspiracy.

Cast

• Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart police lieutenant from Detroit, Michigan, who frequently traveled to Beverly Hills to investigate crimes that previously had mutual colleagues or friends of his wounded or killed.
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Detective Bobby Abbott, Jane's ex-boyfriend and a police detective in the Beverly Hills Police Department who becomes Axel's new partner.
• Kevin Bacon as Captain Cade Grant, a police captain in the Beverly Hills Police Department and the main antagonist in the movie.
• Taylour Paige as Jane Saunders, Axel Foley's estranged daughter who works in Beverly Hills as a criminal defense attorney.
• Judge Reinhold as William "Billy" Rosewood, John Taggart's retired former partner in the Beverly Hills Police Department.
• John Ashton as Chief John Taggart, Billy Rosewood's former partner in the Beverly Hills Police Department who retired from the force. Ashton returns to the role after 37 years from Beverly Hills Cop II.
• Paul Reiser as Jeffrey Friedman, Axel's former partner in the Detroit Police Department. Reiser returns to the role after 37 years from Beverly Hills Cop II.
• Bronson Pinchot as Serge, a former art gallery salesman turned weapons dealer who worked for Victor Maitland. Pinchot returns to the role after 30 years from Beverly Hills Cop III.
• Mark Pellegrino
• Luis Guzmán as Chalino Valdemoro

Production

Development

A fourth entry in the series was initially announced for release in the mid-1990s, under the production of Eddie Murphy's production company, Eddie Murphy Productions, before production fizzled out. In June 2001, it was announced that Jason Richman had been hired to write a treatment for Beverly Hills Cop IV after executives were impressed with his rewrites of Bad Company. The film was re-announced in 2006, when producer Jerry Bruckheimer announced his intention to resurrect the film series, though he eventually gave up his option to produce the film, passing production duties to Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

In September 2006, a script, which was an amalgamation of several earlier drafts, was presented to Murphy, who was reported to be "very happy" with the outline, described as an attempt to recapture the "feel of the original." Murphy admitted one of his motivations for making a fourth Beverly Hills Cop film was to make up for the fact that the third film was "horrible" and "he didn't want to leave (the series) like that."

In May 2008, Rush Hour director Brett Ratner was officially named director, promising the film would return under the series' standard "R" rating rather than as a rumored watered-down PG-13. In July 2008, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas were hired as screenwriters to improve on the existing script and complete a new script under the working title Beverly Hills Cop 2009, which would see Foley return to Beverly Hills to investigate the murder of his friend Billy Rosewood.

The script was eventually rejected, leaving Ratner to work on a new idea. In an interview with Empire magazine, Ratner stated, "I'm working very hard on the fourth. It's very difficult, especially since there were three before. We're trying to figure out some important things, like, where do we start? Is Axel retired? Is he in Beverly Hills? Is he on vacation? Does Judge Reinhold return as the loveable Billy Rosewood? Many questions to figure out, but I'm hoping to have a script before film disappears from our existence."

Although Murphy committed to the project, it was unconfirmed whether the series' other principal actors, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, and Bronson Pinchot, would return. Ratner stated in late 2009 that he was trying to convince Reinhold and Ashton to reprise their roles. Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F" would definitely be returning for the proposed fourth installment, with Ratner quoted as saying, "It'll be back but it'll be a whole new interpretation." On November 15, 2010, Ratner stated in an interview with MTV that there was still a possibility that they would make a fourth film, but that it wouldn't be "anytime soon."

In October 2011, Murphy discussed a possible fourth film, stating, "They're not doing it. What I'm trying to do now is produce a TV show starring Axel Foley's son, and Axel is the chief of police now in Detroit. I'd do the pilot, show up here and there. None of the movie scripts were right; it was trying to force the premise. If you have to force something, you shouldn't be doing it. It was always a rehash of the old thing. It was always wrong." In late summer 2013, after CBS decided to pass on the TV series, Paramount decided to move forward with the fourth film. On September 13, 2013, Jerry Bruckheimer stated he was again in talks to produce. On December 6, 2013, it was again announced that Eddie Murphy would reprise the role of Axel Foley, and Brett Ratner would direct. Murphy was paid $15 million for his involvement. On May 2, 2014, Deadline announced that Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec would be writing the screenplay.

On June 27, 2014, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Murphy discussed returning to the edgier type of character of Axel Foley after years of making family-friendly films. "I haven't done a street guy, working class, a blue-collar character in ages so maybe it's like, 'Oh, wow, I didn't remember he was able to do that,'" Murphy said. According to studio reports on the film's plot, Foley will return to Detroit after leaving his job in Beverly Hills, and he will be faced with the coldest winter on record as he navigates the new rules and old enemies of one of America's most tenacious cities. The state of Michigan approved $13.5 million in film incentives, based on an estimated $56.6 million of filmmaker spending in the state. The film will be shot in and around Detroit and is estimated to provide jobs for 352 workers. The film was originally scheduled for a March 25, 2016 release, but on May 6, 2015, Paramount Pictures pulled Beverly Hills Cop IV from its release schedule due to script concerns. On June 14, 2016, Deadline Hollywood reported that Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, directors of the Belgian drama Black, would direct the film. In September 2017, Arbi and Fallah stated their interest in casting Tom Hardy or Channing Tatum to star alongside Murphy.

In August 2019, the film was described as still in the developmental phase. On October 1, 2019, in an interview with Collider, Murphy announced that principal photography would begin after the filming of Coming 2 America. On November 14, 2019, Deadline Hollywood announced that Paramount Pictures made a one-time license deal, with an option for a sequel, with Netflix to develop the film. In May 2020, after delays in the filmmaking business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Arbi and Fallah confirmed they were still attached as co-directors and that a new screenwriter was working on a new script for the film. In April 2022, Arbi and Fallah left the film to focus on Batgirl (prior to its cancellation), with Mark Molloy hired to replace them. In the same article, Will Beall was announced to have written the script. In March 2023, Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten were given credit for the screenplay, with Beall also receiving story credit.

Filming

In February 2022, the film entered pre-production and received a California state tax credit of $16,059,000. Principal photography began on August 29, 2022, in San Bernardino, along with other areas in California, for 58 days, to generate $78 million in qualified spending in tax incentives. In August 2022, Taylour Paige and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were cast in undisclosed roles. In the same month, Paul Reiser and John Ashton were confirmed to reprise their roles as Det. Jeffrey Friedman and Sgt. John Taggart, respectively, from the first two films.

In September, Judge Reinhold and Bronson Pinchot were confirmed to reprise their roles as Sgt. William "Billy" Rosewood and Serge, respectively, with Kevin Bacon and Mark Pellegrino joining the cast. Filming occurred in Detroit in November 2022, before production wrapped in early 2023.

Post-production

Dan Lebental served as the editor.

Music

Lorne Balfe composed the film's score. The song "Here We Go!" from the movie's soundtrack is sung by Lil Nas X.

Release

The film was released on the streaming service Netflix on July 3, 2024.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 66% of 76 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Brian Tallerico, writing for RogerEbert.com, gave the film three out of four stars, stating that the film is "a shockingly entertaining diversion.... From the beginning, 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F' is buoyant and playful in a way that legacy sequels usually aren't allowed to be, and that was arguably missing in the more leaden second and third films in this series.

Robert Daniels of The New York Times wrote, "While this installment isn’t nearly as woeful as Beverly Hills Cop III, it doesn’t have the charm or energy of the first two films either. It’s a limp, desperate action comedy with few memorable moments."

Future

On June 21, 2024, Eddie Murphy and Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that a fifth Beverly Hills Cop film was already in development.

Accolades

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F received nominations for Location Manager of the Year – Studio Feature and Location Team of the Year – Studio Feature at the 2023 California On Location Awards.

External links

• Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F on Netflix
• Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F at IMDb