If life is a rollercoaster, Beverly Hills Cop III sees Axel Foley heading for the drop

It’s hard to deny that the overall experience of Beverly Hills Cop III is the cinematic equivalent of heading to your favourite theme park only to learn that your rollercoaster is closed for maintenance. It retains most of the familiar elements (John Ashton and Ronny Cox are absent due to scheduling conflicts) but none of them seem to be quite simpatico. Even the usually wisecracking Eddie Murphy seems subdued and disinterested while the amusement park setting – a long cherished but unrealised filming venue of none other than Alfred Hitchcock – feels like a sticking plaster gimmick rather than an integral component of a story which begins, predictably enough, with a murder – this time Axel’s long suffering police chief Todd (Gilbert R Hill).

Foley pursues the murderers to a counterfeit money operation in the heart of Beverly Hills, the trail of clues guiding him to Wonder World, a Disneyland-esque theme park, where the malevolent Ellis DeWald (Timothy Carhart) uses facilities to cover his nefarious activities. Axel teams up once again with the ever-dependable Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Detective Jon Flint (Hector Elizondo), a Taggart proxy whose presence ends up more a distraction than a substitute but is thwarted by the presence of a secret service agent who is working on the same case from a different angle.

Despite its evident low energy, Beverly Hills Cop III does offer moments of genuine entertainment. The setting of Wonder World provides a vibrant, if incongruous, backdrop for action sequences and Murphy’s inherent charisma peeks through sporadically, reminding the audience why Axel Foley became such an iconic figure in the first place. Reinhold, as always, delivers solid support, and the film is peppered with Hollywood cameos, adding points of interest in the otherwise convoluted and lacklustre main plot. Even the contrived return of Bronson Pinchot’s Serge fails to raise much more than a wan smile.

Murphy’s performance, once crackling with electric humour, now feels restrained, lacking the razor-sharp wit that defined Axel Foley in the first two films. The script, weaker and more predictable, tries to force the humour and relies heavily on worn-out tropes and Murphy’s clearly in no mood to elevate the material with his usual improvisation and ad-libbing. Hector Elizondo’s character, Jon Flint, comes across as underdeveloped and ultimately unnecessary, his presence highlighting the glaring absence of John Ashton’s Taggart, whose camaraderie with Axel was one of the cornerstones of the first two movies.

Beverly Hills Cop III may mark the third partnership between Murphy and director John Landis, but while the pair may have mended their relationship after the falling out during the making of Coming To America, third time is definitely not the charm as their collaborative magic fails to materialise. The film’s attempt to update the soundtrack to a more contemporary 90s style doesn’t work and while Beverly Hills Cop and its sequel effortlessly blended action and comedy, Beverly Hills Cop III feels far too mechanical in its assembly of action and comedy beats, forcing the flaccid narrative from one set piece to the next without the spontaneous charm and vibrant humour that made the originals so endearing.

Ultimately, Beverly Hills Cop III is a lacklustre follow-up that struggles to capture the essence of its predecessors. It has moments that amuse, but they are fleeting, and more often than not remind you of what’s missing. It’s a curious misfire that killed off the franchise for a while even though, despite its many shortcomings, it remained clear there was life in the character of Axel Foley yet, if only the material itself wasn’t so lifeless.

beverly hills cop iii review
Score 6/10
logo

Related posts

Every Day (2018) Review
Craggus’ Trek Trek Now: Voyager – Vol.3
Poltergeist III (1988) Review
Count Dracula (1970) Review