It may have been 30 years since his third and last outing, but ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Axel Foley, played by Eddie Murphy, is back on another investigation.
‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ sees the rule-breaking police officer return to Beverly Hills, when he discovers his estranged daughter Jane (Taylour Paige), who is a public defender, is in danger after her own legal investigation into a murder uncovers corruption in the Beverly Hills Police Department.
Murphy is not the only one returning from the original. There’s also Judge Reinhold, who plays Billy Rosewood, and John Ashton, who plays his former chief John Taggart.
The premiere took place fittingly across the road from the Beverly Hills Police Department, where much of the action is set.
However, this premiere was a far cry from the first screening of the original film.
Murphy reminisced at the premiere, saying “The first premiere was, I remember, it was an industry screening I went to and it didn’t go well with the audience.”
“Then I went to see it with a real audience and then I saw the real reaction to it,” he added.
The film went on to be an iconic 80s film and grossed over $300 million dollars worldwide.
Paul Reiser, who reprises his role as Jeffrey Friedman, said “This is a big part of people’s lives. I know it was a hit and everybody loved it but it was more than that. They kind of warmed to it. It’s like comfort food. It’s like we love that movie, we grew up on that movie.”
One actor who grew up on the film and now co-stars with Murphy in the fourth instalment is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose late brother was a die-hard ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ fan.
He said “When your older sibling loves something, it takes on this mystical quality of ultra-coolness. That was Eddie Murphy for me growing up and so when I get the call to be in ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ and play Eddie’s new sidekick, I was like yes and thank you.”
The ability to act in the film was not lost on Kevin Bacon, who plays a sinister senior cop. He said “You know, it’s such an amazing franchise. Working with Eddie is definitely a bucket list thing, you know. I got a chance to get in the ring and play some scenes with him. You know, it was really fun.”
Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who is behind the ‘Top Gun’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and ‘Bad Boys’ franchise, believes this throwback to the 1980s will also be a hit with young audiences.
“I hope they take to it like they did to ‘Maverick’ and ‘Bad Boys’, because if you entertain them and it’s fun and has some emotion to it, they’re going to come and show up, whether it’s on Netflix or in theaters,” he said.
‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ begins streaming on Netflix on July 3 worldwide.
(REUTERS)