Summary
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Fstar Eddie Murphy weighs in on criticisms leveled at 1994’sBeverly Hills Cop III. Despite the strong box office reception of the original and its 1987 sequel, Murphy’s third outing as Axel Foley would be widely panned by critics and only recoup $119.2 million against an original budget of $70 million. Plagued by spiraling budgetary concerns and script issues, many commentators, including Murphy, consider it the weakest entry in theBeverly Hills Copfranchise.
With many hoping to see the franchise’s legacy restored with the upcoming Netflix sequel,Screen Rantspoke with Murphy about the issues with Axel’s previous outing. Explaining thatBeverly Hills Cop IIIsuffered from having a weak villainand the absence of Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton), the iconic comedian points out the key sign of the movie’s impending failure was its use of an overly used line. Check out his comments below:
The reason Beverly Hills Cop 3 was soft was because Taggart’s not in the movie, and the villain isn’t villainous enough, and Axel didn’t have any skin in the game.
The first movie, Axel’s best friend is killed. And the second one, his boss, the Chief, gets killed. And then in the third one, Uncle Dave is in trouble. That’s what the movie’s about.
This is when you’re able to tell a movie’s not going to work: when you have one of those lines that you’ve seen millions [of times] and hundreds of thousands of movies have said this line. There was one scene where I had Uncle Dave in the back, and he was dying. I was driving, and I said, “Don’t you die on me, man!” How many times have you seen that in a movie? When somebody’s dying, “Don’t you die on me!” If you in a movie, and you scream, “Don’t you die on me,” that means the movie’s not going to work. [Laughs]
Beverly Hills Cop 3 Missed Far More Than Taggart
Eddie Murphy’s Maligned Threequel Didn’t Live Up To The First Two Movies
Sitting at a disappointing 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, 1994’sBeverly Hills Cop IIIis by far the lowest-rated entry in the franchisethat helped turn Murphy into a Hollywood star. By comparison, the originalBeverly HillsCop boasts an impressive Certified Fresh 83% rating on the aggregator site. While the silver-tongued comedian may be quick to point out that many of the threequel’s issues revolved around its weak villain and Taggart’s absence, several other notable components are also missing from Axel’s previous big-screen adventure.
83%
82%
$316.3 million
46%
58%
$299.9 million
11%
35%
$119.2 million
While the first two movies were produced by the powerhouse production team of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, the pair would later part ways with Paramount during the threequel’s protracted development process. Meanwhile, the movie’s new producers, Mace Neufeld & Robert Rehme, would also come toinherit a budget that was quickly exceeding the studio’s initial estimatesand necessitated several changes to the script, including a reduction in action sequences.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F - Release Date, Cast, Story, Trailer & Everything We Know About Beverly Hills Cop 4
Beverly Hills Cop 4 is officially on the way, and there are already a ton of exciting updates about Eddie Murphy’s return as Axel Foley.
Moreover,Beverly Hills Cop IIIwould also notably break with a tradition established by the first two movies and fail to include a soundtrack contribution from R&B groupThe Pointer Sisters, whose songNeutron Danceis now synonymous with the franchise’s original film. However, with Bruckheimer back co-producing the franchise’s newest sequel, andNeutron Danceeven featured in the officialBeverly Hills Cop: Axel Ftrailer, all signs seem to point to the franchise making a triumphant return to the kinds of success enjoyed by its earliest entries.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Cast
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley is the fourth film in the popular comedy franchise starring Eddie Murphy. Murphy returns as Axel Foley in the Netflix film alongside returning cast members Judge Reinhold and John Ashton and Bronson Pinchot as Serge. Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt also star in the sequel as new characters.
