Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (Netflix, 2024) & Space Cadet (Prime Video, 2024)
The Heat is on! Eddie Murphy returns as Axel Foley for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which is undoubtedly the best movie in the series since the legendary first one.
This is the fourth movie in the franchise, forty years after the first movie turned Eddie Murphy into a global superstar.
And yes, I was there during its first run in theaters and I saw the movie many times after. The first Beverly Hills Cop contained the perfect mix of action and comedy, with Murphy’s wise cracking sense of humor as the cherry on top. It was an absolute blast!
The second one, released in 1987, was still pretty decent, even if I only saw it once or twice. But the third one, released ten years after the first movie, really wasn’t much cop, and the franchise was laid to rest. (Even though in 2013 there was a pilot for a series, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, which was canceled before it aired.)
In 2024, however, things look quite different. Generational nostalgia is all the rage, and Netflix (like most streamers) loves to give its viewers throwbacks to things they enjoyed in the past, especially if it’s movies from the eighties and nineties.
And yes, I think a lot of people, both young and old, will press ‘play’ just out of curiosity. I’m sure (almost) everyone has an Eddie Murphy movie they enjoy, so why not take another look at the role that made him famous?
Axel F is directed with a lot of verve by Mark Molloy, from a script by Will Beall, Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten. Apart from Murphy, Judge Reinhold returns as Billy Rosewood and John Ashton is back as John Taggart, while new faces include Kevin Bacon as Captain Grant and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Detective Bobby Abbott.
In the new movie Axel Foley leaves his hometown of Detroit once again for Beverly Hills after the life of his estranged daughter Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige) is threatened. Jane works as a criminal defense attorney and soon father and daughter uncover a conspiracy that has something to do with the disappearance of his old pal Billy Rosewood. Axel also teams up with Jane’s ex-boyfriend Bobby, but soon comes into conflict with another old pal, John Taggart, who is now station chief.
Still, as this is an Eddie Murphy vehicle, and he is one of the original disruptors, Axel creates chaos almost everywhere he goes while also trying to form new bonds with Jane, while also trying to solve some heinous crimes. With a mix of foul mouthed humor and some better than expected action scenes the movie definitely earns its R-rating.
It’s an unexpected but well deserved triumph, even if it has to borrow the almost entire soundtrack of the earlier movies (including songs by Bob Seger, The Pointer Sisters and of course Glenn Frey) in the name of shameless nostalgia.
Still, if you liked the recent Bad Boys: Ride or Die (or even that other generational powerplay Top Gun: Maverick) I’m pretty sure you are gonna appreciate this one too.
SPACE CADET (Prime Video, 2024) ugh
Space Cadet is a sweet and silly summer comedy, that coasts by on a charming star turn by Emma Roberts.
Written and directed by Liz W. Garcia, Space Cadet tells the story of Rex Simpson, who once dreamed of becoming a Space Cadet before life got in the way.
Now a Florida party girl who helps her father out with his spooky ghost tours, when her dream is awakened by a school reunion, she sets out to fill in a NASA application form with all the passion she can muster. Will it be enough?
Unbeknownst to her, best friend Nadine (Poppy Liu) spices up her resume and suddenly Rex is one of 35 aspiring cadets. But will she stay the course?
The obvious answer would be ‘hell, no!’ but Suspension of disbelief be dammed, this is one of those movies that exists just for the fun of it - and for fans of Emma Roberts, I’m sure..
It’s not gonna win any Oscars, but Space Cadet is a bright and bubbly package, and if you just go along with it it may fly just a little higher than you imagine.