Beverly Hills Cop Collection

Eddie Murphy

Judge Reinhold

John Ashton

Lisa Eilbacher

Ronny Cox

Steven Berkoff

James Russo

Jonathan Banks

Stephen Elliott

Gilbert R. Hill

Art Kimbro

Joel Bailey

Bronson Pinchot

Paul Reiser

Michael Champion

Frank Pesce

Gene Borkan

Michael Gregory

Alice Cadogan

Philip Levien

Karen Mayo-Chandler

Gerald Berns

William Wallace

Israel Juarbe

Randy Vasquez

Damon Wayans

Chuck Adamson

Chip Heller

Rick Overton

Rex Ryon

Mike Pniewski

Douglas Warhit

Paul Drake

Tom Everett

Sally Kishbaugh

Barry Shade

Jack Heller

Michael Harrington

David Wells

Scott Murphy

Dennis Madden

John Achorn

John Pettis

Nicholas Shields

Carl Weintraub

Anthony De Fonte

Darwyn Carson

Mark E. Corry

Thomas J. Hageboeck

David Patrick Kelly

Donald Chaffin

Martin Brest

Danny Nero

Bob Davis

Peter Eastman

Farrell Mayer

Earl Jolly Brown

Paul LeClair

Jerry Bruckheimer

Don Simpson

Bruce Surtees

Harold Faltermeyer

Arthur Coburn

Daniel Petrie Jr.

Tom Bronson

Mike Moder

Peter Bogart

Richard Graves

James J. Murakami

Jeff Haley

John M. Dwyer

Jack N. Green

Michael D. Weldon

Jeff L. Miller

Thomas J. Wright

Richard R. Robinson

Steve McRoberts

Charles M. Wilborn

William Gocke

Bob Badami

Cecelia Hall

George Watters II

Teri E. Dorman

Bruce Lacey

Bruce Richardson

Daniel F. Finnerty

Carolyn Colwell

Pamela Bentkowski

Alan L. Nineberg

Donald O. Mitchell

Gregg Landaker

Rick Kline

Gary Ritchie

Ben Nye Jr.

Leonard Engelman

Barbara Lorenz

Kathie Gale

Michael J. Long

Chuck Velasco

Claudia Finkle

John Haggar

Gary McLarty

Don Nygren

Peter Wagner

Tommy Tomlinson

Stanley Brossette

Richard Ritchie

James Herbert

William Bowling

Laurie Allison

Jay Fuller

Sam Edelman

Peter J. Breen

Jim Rose

John Davis

Frank McKane

Francis X. Valdez III

Danny Marzolo

Michael Liakos

Al Contreras

Ken Pepiot

Mike Blaze

John Hutchinson

Robert Mueller

Maggie Mills

Barbara Weintraub

Carol Richmond

Scott Metcalfe

Janis Benjamin Collister

Kathy Nelson

Michael W. Moore

Rex Pierson

Margery Simkin

Rhonda Young

Angelo P. Graham

Betty Goldberg

Allan Bromberg

Linda Horner

Billy Weber

Loren Janes

Danny Costa

Vince Deadrick Jr.

Vince Deadrick Sr.

Eddy Donno

Steve M. Davison

Janet Brady

Christopher R. Adams

Ron Ellis

Kenny Endoso

Richard Epper

Tony Epper

Stephanie Epper

Matt Johnston

Billy Hank Hooker

Comedy

Crime

Action

Beverly Hills Cop

Paramount Pictures

Eddie Murphy Productions

Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

United States of America

The heat is on - indeed!

Cocky rule dodging Detroit Cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) heads to Beverly Hills in search of those responsible for murdering his friend. Upon getting there he falls foul of everyone he meets due to his tough Detroit approach work. Undaunted, Foley, aided by old friend Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher) and two intrigued local detectives, starts to unravel the mystery.

Hey Axel you got a cigarette?

There was a time when Eddie Murphy ruled the world. After Trading Places had introduced us to his sharp comedic tongue, and 48 Hours had shown him to be a more than capable action character actor, Beverly Hills Cop fused the two together and propelled Murphy to super stardom. Directed by Martin Brest and produced by Messers Simpson & Bruckheimer, it's really no surprise that "Hills Cop" is shallow, simple (a fish out of water comedy standard) and utterly commercial. Yet with its gusto, humorous script (Daniel Petrie Jr) and neat plotting, it becomes a hugely entertaining film - led superbly by Murphy due to infectious comedy energy and superb knack for timing.

You're not going to fall for the banana in the tailpipe routine!

It's hard to believe that the likes of Sly Stallone and Al Pacino were first mooted for the role, so not as a comedy one imagines, but as it being a standard police action movie, but enter Murphy and it ended up as a fine blend of action and comedy. There's little digs at Beverly Hills and its smugness, a way of life that Foley, with his down on the streets toughness, can't comprehend, while opposing police methods also get a wry once over -  wonderfully threaded in the relationship between Foley, Taggart (John Ashton) and Rosewood (Judge Reinhold). 


Small gripes reside, such as Steven Berkoff's by the numbers villain being something of a let down and Ronny Cox is sadly playing filler time with an underwritten character. But this is about Murphy, the fabulous stunt work and the successful union of action and comedy. And hey! even Harold Faltermeyer's bobbing synth score, "Axel F," has a nippiness that remains quintessentially 1980s. 8/10

CinemaSerf

This is probably my favourite outing for a fresh-faced and wise-cracking Eddie Murphy. He ("Axel Foley") is the cop from Detroit who finds himself embroiled in some criminal antics in the upper class and distinctly by-the-book LA suburb of Beverly Hills. Despite the serious reservations of "Lt. Bogomil" (Ronny Cox) he ends up working with two of his detectives "Taggart" (John Ashton) and "Rosewood" (Judge Reinhold) as they try to track down the murderer of a childhood friend from Detroit that, of course, soon has them knee-deep in a lucrative - and deadly - drugs operation. It's the unorthodox nature of Murphy's character and the paradox with the posh culture of his new surroundings that gives the star a chance to be exactly that here. The writing provides him with quick-fire dialogue and the two foils work well in being the butt of the gags and, as the relationships develop along fairly predictable lines, the whole thing marries the comedic, the slapstick and some pyrotechnics with just enough sophistication to keep it from being cringeworthy. Of course there's no doubt that the guys will get their man - a rather hammy Steven Berkoff, but the manner in which this is all pursued is funny and entertaining. Keep an eye to for the disdainful Stephen Elliott as "Chief Hubbard" whose disbelief in just what's going on under his nose raises a smile, as does Bronson Pinchot's "Serge". It's got quite a memorable soundtrack - even if I hated "Axel F", and is good fun!