Revisiting 'Beverly Hills Cop III' Before the Release of 'Axel F'

What can we take away from an Axel Foley movie that most people would simply care to forget ever existed in the first place?

With the impending release of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F on Netflix (sigh), I decided to finally watch the entire Beverly Hills Cop series for the first time, culminating in us covering Beverly Hills Cop III on the show, which you can listen to below.

So, is Beverly Hills Cop III a movie that needs to exist? Certainly not - it reeks of being a cash grab above all else, which it more or less was. After all, Eddie Murphy’s explicit reasoning for making a third movie for years was that he’d be getting a huge payday from it.

Nobody faults him for that, but it’s a baffling choice to completely eschew the Axel Foley wit and charm that made even the first two movies remotely enjoyable in the first place. Let’s be honest here - the first two scripts are as thin as dollar-store toilet paper, and every other conceivable wart is covered with the glorious ointment that is Murphy’s charisma.

But in this third installment, he no longer seems interested in being that character, or at least indulging in those traits, opting for a more mature Foley - and a far less interesting or enjoyable one (Murphy would say that Foley is no longer the “wisecracking rookie cop” in interviews leading up to the film’s release). These days, Murphy chalks up the disappointment of the third film to the absence of Sergeant Taggert (John Ashton), the lack of a truly great villain, and the lower-level stakes for Foley - all valid points as well.

There is so much more that could have been done in the amusement park setting; that was an inspired choice. But it all just falls flat, and it’s more a testament to Murphy’s immense talents that he can elevate an otherwise bland product at any given time. But by choosing to essentially sleepwalk through the film - or at least try to infuse some sort of misguided evolution to the character - we’re left with a Beverly Hills Cop most people would rather just forget.

Axel Foley certainly deserves better, and it seems like Murphy has felt the same way over the years. Hopefully the character gets that much-deserved redemption in Axel F.