“You guys will love it. Don’t worry. It’s nice. Trust me.”
I while back I watched and reviewed the sequels to the Eddie Murphy comedy classic Beverly Hills Cop. Suffice to say I was less than impressed. Much of this disappointment stemmed from my recollection of the first movie in the series, which was far superior. Today, for my Saturday Replay, I decided to confirm that recollection.
For the most part, I’d say my memory was accurate. Beverly Hills Cop is the quintessential 80′s action comedy. If there was one thing I found surprising, it was that the film really is weighted more towards the action side of the equation than to comedy. Really the humor comes almost entirely from Murphy, and his interactions with straight-man Taggart (John Ashton) and the naive goofball Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold). There’s also one pretty funny scene with Bronson Pinchot as the ambiguously foreign art-dealer Serge.
The rest of the film is pretty much just an action movie, its pretty dated. The film opens with a pretty effective car chase, but the gun fight at the end just seems corny.
Overall, this movie wasn’t as good as I remembered it being, but its still significantly better than part two, and far, far better than part three. Unlike its two sequels, Beverly Hills Cop is well worth seeing.
[Beverly Hills Cop (1984) - Directed by Martin Brest - Rated R]
