Three years after the original set the box office ablaze, Eddie Murphy returned in 1987 as Axel Foley in the action packed sequel, BEVERLY HILLS COP II.
A daring band of robbers is pulling big heists in Los Angeles, led by the statuesque Karla Fry (Brigitte Nielsen in her Amazonian 80's glory). Leaving cryptic letters behind, they've dubbed them the Alphabet crimes.
When Chief Bogomil (Ronny Cox of "Deliverance") is nearly murdered by the gang, Axel rejoins the mismatched pair of detectives Billy (Judge Reinhold) & Taggart (John Ashton) in California to help on the case.
What works well in the sequel is Murphy's trademark rapid-fire delivery of hilarious one-liners or BS as he winds his way deep into the investigation.
Nielsen is a blast as the villain, Jurgen Prochnow (The Keep, Dune) is a terrific bad guy and the 80's soundtrack is loaded with everyone from Bob Seger to the Pointer Sisters.
Gilbert Gottfried is hilarious as a slimy lawyer in a scene that he and Murphy mostly improvised and Paul Reiser (Mad About You) is funny as Axel's partner in Detroit.
What doesn't work? The overly loud, predictable new chief Harold Lutz, unappealingly played by Allen Garfield (Nashville) and an unnecessary subplot with an arms dealer, blah blah...
But Murphy is at the top of his game. Watching him talk himself into staying at a Beverly Hills mansion or stroll into an upscale shooting gallery and verbally abuse the bad guys delivers the laughs.
Reinhold is hilarious as Billy, morphing from the meek detective of the first film into a Rambo-like warrior, loading up on so many weapons that he delivers terrific action and laughs in the finale.
Watch closely for a very young Chris Rock as a valet attendant during the cement truck sequence.
A massive hit with the biggest opening weekend in '87, it generated a second, horrible sequel 7 years later. Stick with this and the original!
Axel's first return to the screen gets a violent, laugh-filled B.
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