In my excitement to see the first new Axel Foley movie in thirty years this week, I went back to revisit 1994's BEVERLY HILLS COP III.
Eddie Murphy has denounced the third film as a disaster in the years since, and seeing it for the first time since opening weekend three decades ago, it's hard to argue.
It starts off well, with Axel and his squad in the back alleys of Detroit, ready to bust a car theft ring. His boss Inspector Todd (once again played by real cop Gil Hill) wonders why Axel hasn't called in the SWAT team, but defers to his rowdiest detective.
Suddenly a car load of bad guys that comes off like a bargain rate version of Alan Rickman's goon squad in "Die Hard" roles into the chop shop and kills everyone, stealing an armored van loaded with boxes marked US GOVERNMENT.
Todd gets killed, sending Axel back to California when all the clues lead to Wonder World, a bargain version of Disneyland on the west coast.
Early drafts of the sequel script (by Robert Towne of "Chinatown" fame!) had Axel in London saving his friends, but after story and budget revisions, Axel's stuck in an amusement park.
There is a surprisingly low level of amusement to be found.
Screenwriter Steven E. de Souza wrote "Die Hard" and "48 Hours", but he also wrote the terrible Bruce Willis vehicle"Hudson Hawk". Suffice to say, he's no Robert Towne.
The script is weak and stupid, with Axel getting shot at the first time he visits the basement operations of the park. It gives Axel a love interest so dull that even Theresa Randle (Malcolm X, Bad Boys) can't do anything with the role.
Halfway through, Axel is hanging off of amusement park rides saving little kids and Landis is saving money by shooting scenes on thinly veiled Universal Studios rides.
Where the hell did the budget go?
And how the hell does Axel's handgun fire 60 bullets without reloading?
Bronson Pinchot does shine in an appearance as Serge, but the fact that he's now selling huge RoboCop style weapons at a gun show displays just how bad the screenplay is, shoving Serge into a scene where he's funny, but makes NO sense.
Anytime that Judge Reinhold is on screen as Sgt. Billy Rosewood, he and Murphy's banter is hilarious and this thing crackles like the first two films, but it's about the only thing that goes right.
The music score by Nile Rodgers is surprisingly tired, serving up bargain basement orchestral versions of the Axel F theme that grow repetitive.
Timothy Carheart (Witness, Working Girl) is a pretty dull villain and Hector Elizondo (Pretty Woman) falls a bit flat as an LA detective helping Axel.
Director John Landis seems like an ill fit for the material. He's created some of our best screen comedies with films like "Animal House" and "The Blues Brothers" but nothing is clicking here.
Many including Murphy have shared that he was depressed when filming this film due to the films before it bombing at the box office, and he does seem off. He's also said that he was trying to play a more serious adult version of Axel, but ticket buyers clearly had no interest in seeing that.
It was the only one of the Beverly Hills Cop films to not open at number one for the week, and it also failed to make $100 million during its run, a huge letdown from the previous films.
Landis manages to sneak a ton of his director friends into the film as extras, including Joe Dante, George Lucas and Arthur Hiller.
Probably the only smart thing he did is to hire the Sherman Brothers to compose a Wonder World theme that plays non-stop over the night time finale. It's similarities to their "It's a Small World" tee up a great, shouted one-liner by Elizondo.
With a $50 million budget and $46 million at the US box office, this stinker put Axel Foley on ice for 30 years.
I'm very excited to see Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F coming out this week (July 3, 2024) on Netflix. Murphy owes us all one, and from what I've seen, he's gone out of his way to deliver this time out.
As for this dud, BEVERLY HILLS COP III gets a D for dumb, dull and desperate.
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