Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

"Beverly Hill's Cop" has all the makings of a classic 80's movie, the charismatic persona of Eddie Murphy, an upbeat and catchy synthesizer's beat and a likability factor that tie up all these elements together, so its iconic status can't be denied regardless of whether you've actually enjoyed it or not. But that doesn't make it immune to fair criticism, is the film a classic? Yes. Is it funny? Now , that's tricky.We're in 2017, and Martin Brest's film still holds up very well and is considered as one of the most defining comedies of the 80's. I wouldn't say it's one of the funniest and I always felt an affront to comedies that "Ghostbusters" and "Beverly Hill Cops" are listed in AFI's Top 100 Funniest Movies while the laugh-riot of the year "Top Secret!" has been overlooked. No offense to these two classics, but by Bill Murray's own admittance, Ramis' classic leaned toward Sci-fi and special effects at the expenses of comedy during the whole third act, and "Beverly Hills Cops" features a cold-blooded murder at point blank on the head, for Pete's sake. For a comedy, it's quite a heavy movie but there are reasons why "Beverly Hills Cops" is a classic.The film features Eddie Murphy at the top of his game as a street-smart loudmouthed, foulmouthed Detroit cop, Axel Folley, who investigates (officiously, he's supposed to be in vacation) the murder of his friend, an ex-convict killed by his boss' right-hand man, played by a sinister Jonathan Banks, the bigger bad guy is an art deal but drug smuggler operating in Beverly Hills and played with the faux suaveness of a Bond bad- guy by Steven Berkoff. The comedic moments generally emerge comes from the situations when Folley, discovers the manners of Beverly Hills and the procedural of the Police Deparment. His constant arguments with Taggart (John Ashton) and Bogomil (Ronny Cox) are always entertaining, so is the way Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) is always the only one to empathize with Folley, or find his jokes funny.But to be honest, the film doesn't hold up to its reputation for one simple reason, it always gets to the obvious. The plot is rather formulaic and consists on a really mean bad guy, not even likable on a vile level, who's confronted by Folley at various circumstances and who could have been easily gotten away if he didn't decide to kidnap his friend at the end, the climax is a banal shootout and doesn't leave much to the imagination. You've got to wonder why it ended up being nominated for Best Original Screenplay, even a moment that could have been the inspiration for a hilarious monologue, when Eddie Murphy checks out at the hotel, turns into a "that's because I'm black" shtick. Just compare that moment to the magnificent hotel lobby room sequence in "This is Spinal Tap" and you'll find the line between good and lazy writing.That's how the film felt, lazy, obvious and oblivious to its obviousness. I enjoyed it as far I enjoyed Eddie Murphy but if he can make a movie good, he can't carry a plot alone, this is why "Trading Places" and "Coming to America" were better, they had Dan Aykroyd, Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy, Arsenio Hall, John Amos and James Earl Jones... "Beverly Hills Cop" is the Eddie Murphy show combined with a banal cop flick, it gets slightly better when it evolves toward a triangular buddy movie, so much better that you can even feel some vibes of "Lethal Weapon", a film that doesn't have the pretension to be a comedy, but was as enjoyable and even lighthearted as "Beverly Hill Cop".But after "Lethal Weapon" and the great chemistry between Gibson and Glover, the "Beverly Hills Cop" sequels sucked by comparison.Maybe the theme of the film contributed to its popularity, now that should have been nominated for an Oscar; not the screenplay. Again, Eddie Murphy is such a great presence I forgive everything but wish there was more part showcasing the differences between the Detroit and the Beverly Hills lifestyle, and more inspired bits than impersonating a homosexual or complaining of black, that felt like old stuff even by 80's standards. The film becomes better once you expect a cop movie, maybe that's how they should have label it. But who'll believe in a dramatic Eddie Murphy anyway?

If you've never seen this film at all or you happen to be a fan of both the eighties and Eddie Murphy's sense of humour then I can guarantee a great evening. The comedy is brash but it goes with the territory, generally it's a well made film with a great plot.Eddie stars as a maverick cop called Axel Foley whose antics test the department in particular, commanding officer Inspector Todd after a sting operation goes badly wrong. Axel meets childhood friend Mikey Tandino and they go for a drink for old time's sake. Things go wrong when returning to Axel's apartment when Mikey is murdered whilst he(Axel) is knocked unconscious. Inspector Todd sympathetically gives Axel time off and it's not long when Axel heads to Beverley Hills to track Mikey's killers and then that's when the fun starts...

After he is knocked unconscious and his best friend is murdered, "Detective Axel Foley" (Eddie Murphy) leaves Detroit and goes to Beverly Hills to investigate the situation. However, not only is he out of his jurisdiction and disobeying a direct order from his boss, but he soon finds out that the way things are done in Detroit is not how the police operate in Beverly Hills. And the police there have no qualms arresting people who break the law—and that goes double for Axel Foley. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a charming action film which was heavy on humor but light on realism. Be that as it may, I thought that Eddie Murphy was absolutely sensational and that this was probably his best movie of all. Granted, this movie is definitely dated and clearly reflected the 1980s. Likewise, he was quite vulgar in several scenes as well but he managed to use that to his advantage to keep the humor moving along. In any case, I enjoyed this film and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

"Beverly Hills Cop" (1984) stars Eddie Murphy as, Axel Foley, a fast-talking, streetwise Detroit cop who goes to Beverly Hills to investigate the murder of a close friend. He meets up with a fetching high school friend (Lisa Eilbacher) and encounters a handful of Beverly Hills police (Judge Reinhold, John Ashton and Ronny Cox ) while zeroing in on the wicked culprit (Steven Berkoff).Murphy's role was originally intended for Sylvester Stallone, who dropped out two weeks before filming was to commence because the producers insisted that Stallone's ideas were over-budget. A couple days later Eddie signed on resulting in massive rewrites to include his witty comedic flair. Despite these last-minute changes everything clicks for a great mid-80s cop thriller/comedy. The movie went on to become the #1 film in the USA in 1984 and #2 worldwide.Seeing it 31 years later (as of this writing) it's clearly a product of its time—e.g. the music and styles—but its greatness still shines. What's so great about this film? Of course there's Eddie's comic genius, but there's so much more: The great "Axel F" instrumental by Harold Faltermeyer; the way the movie expertly meshes serious drama/action with excellent comedic elements; Mikey's surprising and potent expression of love for his friend; Axel's loyalty at all costs spirit; the theme of being different in a world that demands conformity; trying to understand how your colleagues think or work in order to solve a case; the great camaraderie that develops amongst the protagonists; Axel's acceptance once he proves he's the real deal; looking beyond outer gruffness to see inner greatness; Lisa's perky cuteness; the warmth the viewer feels for the protagonists as the story progresses; and more.The film runs 105 minutes and was shot in Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan; and Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Los Angeles, California.GRADE: A