Supercharged, action man Axel

BEVERLY HILLS COP II (1987)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Eddie Murphy was riding high back in 1987. He was one of the biggest stars in the world, turning in big box-office dollars with the original "Beverly Hills Cop," "The Golden Child," "48 HRS.," and "Trading Places." Murphy could do no wrong, and this rip-roaring, extremely loud sequel to "Beverly Hills Cop" was no exception. It reunited him with the two "supercops" from the original, John Ashton as the heavy-set Taggart and Judge Reinhold as the naive Billy Rosewood. Naturally, Murphy was at the center of the film, spouting jokes and obscenities galore. Something changed, though, and most critics picked up on it. Murphy was loud and irreverent as always, but there was a meaner edge and a sexist attitude that was standoffish to say the least.

"Cop II" begins with an L.A. jewelry robbery that is as loud and overdone as expected from the team of Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson. Then we flash to the city of Detroit with Eddie back as Axel Foley, preening for the camera as he wears an expensive suit, drives a Ferrari, and goes deep, deep undercover trying to infiltrate a credit card scam! This raises the ire of returnee Inspector Todd (played by real-life Detroit police inspector Gilbert Hill) who is paying for Axel's expenses despite the fact that no arrests have been made. Before you know it, Axel (in a contrived scene) discovers that his good friend, Lieutenant Bogomil (Ronny Cox), has been shot by someone from the Alphabet Team who have committed a string of Alphabet robberies in L.A., including one in the opening sequence. So Axel decides to go to Beverly Hills, comfort Bogomil and his stunning blonde daughter (Alice Adair), and help solve the crimes with the reluctant Taggart and the giddy Rosewood.

When first glimpsed, "Beverly Hills Cop II" might be seen as a great movie if seen with the right audience, but it hardly qualifies on second viewing. For one, there are far too many inconsistencies, including the fact that Axel is friends with Taggart, Rosewood and Bogomil (the very same people who were ready to put him in jail in the original). Plus, Axel seems to get away with too much, including an improbable scene where he talks his way into the Playboy Mansion. Unlikely. The original was more clever by allowing scenes such as Axel using racism and a supposed Rolling Stone cover story to get inside a ritzy hotel. And how about the ridiculous scene where he talks a construction crew into leaving the house they are remodeling, thus allowing Axel to stay in a house in Beverly Hills for free, complete with a jacuzzi and a slippery swimming pool!

There is an underlying sexist edge to the film, which lead to Eddie's extremely raw, fitfully funny concert film "Raw" the very same year. Every comment made by Axel in the movie feels sexist. Consider the scene where he admires the long, shaven legs of Brigitte Nielsen during shooting practice. Or the deplorable Playboy Mansion scene. Or how he feels stiffed about paying seven dollars for a coke when he could get blown for the same amount of money. Axel's clever witticisms from the original are still there but a meanness has also taken over, as if Axel only sees women as sex objects. I only wish the writers took advantage and expanded the character's horizons to accommodate such sexual attitudes. All we learn about Foley in this movie is that he was a little thief when he was a kid, nothing more.

The sexist edge also feels tampered with, to some degree. In the original, Murphy had a good rapport with Lisa Elibacher, though they never developed a relationship beyond friendship, presumably because she is white and Foley does not see her as a sexual object. Same with this sequel where Murphy knows how to comfort Bogomil's white daughter and gets to kiss her on the cheek two or three times but no relationship develops. If this seems like a silly argument, consider "The Pelican Brief" as one of many examples in Hollywood history. In that film, Denzel Washington has a friendship with Julia Roberts but it never develops into anything else (though it did in the book).

Now for the pluses in "Beverly Hills Cop II." The movie begins with a superb title sequence where the song "Shakedown" by Bob Seger plays in the soundtrack. There are a few choice Murphy put downs and one-liners, as expected, and his gargantuan laugh is as loud and Dolby-ized as one can imagine. Also, Murphy still has good chemistry with Ashton and Reinhold, though their scenes do lack the pungent wit and camaraderie of the original. There is also an early appearance by Chris Rock as a whiny valet.

There is no doubt that the film is entertaining but it resembles more of a Rambo action piece than the comedy that one would hope for. The villains are left on the sidelines and the plot is far too confusing to care about (why would robbers plot their crimes with the use of coordinates?) The movie is loud (as are all Bruckheimer/Simpson productions), insanely high-pitched, occasionally funny, definitely sexist, profane at times, but also as evocative of the indulgences and decadence of the 1980's as any film of that period.