BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F Review: Amusing and charming revival that tries to ignite the spark of its glorious past

Thirty years have passed since the last film of the series hit theaters, since then, the world have changed a lot, the habits of consuming media are not the same and most of the entertainment is consumed through streaming platform, which is a limited window for profit, if we compared with the multiple options that producers had in the past, to make their products profitable. That has created an insufferable wave on nonsense remakes and late revivals, with the only intention of cash in already exploited sagas, in an attempt of invest in safe bets, that not always goves the awaiting results… It was the perfect scenario for Eddie Murphy to finally being able to carry out this sequel project that he´s been trying to make since the 90´s…

This fourth installment is a late revival that is true to its 80´s/90´s essence, with the wisdom of rejecting adapt itself to today´s standards, whatever the trend is, Murphy returns to his iconic character in a plot that revolves around a case of police corruption in which Foley´s daughter gets involved as attorney of a young Mexican gang member who´s been framed to take the blame in a murder he hasn´t commited.

The addition of the cast of Taylor Paige as Foley´s daughter, brings new elements to the series, showing the character in a facet in which we had not seen him before, as a father who´s trying to reconcile with a daugher that hates him for being absent for most of her life, as a complement to this equation that forms the central part of the main plot, we also have Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who functions equally as Murphy’s sidekick, and love interest of Taylor Paige, while Eddie Murphy’s former companions in the original trilogy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot, return reprising their roles as reinforcements to face the threat posed by the excellent villain played by Kevin Bacon.

Hollywood lately is obssesed with bringing back to life our aging heroes, and for that reason, the film might lack of the spark and the energy of the original trilogy, however, I think it managed to offer something better of what John Landis gave us in 94 with the third installment, but still comes short to be as memorable as the first two installments. There´s plenty moments of good action, with real stunts and not lame CGI, and the jokes and the comedy worked perfectly fine with its typical nostalgic references to its glorious past that this kind of revivals normally have.

In a perfect world this would be waiting for you in a theatre near you, but on this world full of imperfections that everyday is closer to a be South Park episode, you can enjoy Beverly Hills Cop: Alex Foley in a Netflix near you…