Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Director : Mark Molloy Cert : None Starring : Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, Kevin Bacon Running Time : 1 hr 55 mins The experience of viewing these delayed sequels – the first Beverly Hills Cop was 40 years ago, man! – is akin to attending a typical Irish funeral. You get to see who’s still alive. You ponder how well some are looking.
You worry about the cadaverous appearance of others. Here’s Paul Reiser, grey on top, but apparently fit, as Axel Foley’s old Detroit partner. Judge Reinhold still has that cheeky, angular grin.
“You rocking a Guns N’ Roses T-shirt, Judgy? They weren’t even around first time. They’re one of the new bands. Ha, ha! Shame about old .
.. Yeah, left us too soon.
Where are the sausage rolls?” Then there’s Eddie Murphy . The face is rounder than it used to be. He can’t escape a hurtling helicopter with the same comic grace.
But the exquisite timing and gift for aghast sarcasm is still firmly in place. Even in worse rubbish than this he maintains a degree of dignity. An implicit explanation for the delay in following up Beverly Hills Cop III turns up about halfway through.
LA cops are looking through the records of Foley’s previous visits to their glossy city. Here he is in 1984. There he is again in 1987.
“Ninety-four? Not your finest hour,” they say, shaking heads. That John Landis episode was, inde.