Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

John Chard December 31, 2018

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…

CinemaSerf February 26, 2023

★ 7/10

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…