Today’s quick review: Beverly Hills Cop II. Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), a brash cop from Detroit, returns to Beverly Hills when Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox), a police friend of his, is shot while working on a case. There he teams up with Taggart (John Ashton) and Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), two local cops, to resume Bogomil’s investigation into a series of daring crimes.
Beverly Hills Cop II is a crime comedy with a quick-thinking protagonist, a comic pair of sidekicks, and a reasonably interesting crime plot. Beverly Hills Cop II picks up two years after the first film. Axel has settled back into his role as the least-respected officer in the Detroit Police Department, while Bogomil, Taggart, and Rosewood are struggling under the thumb of a new police chief.
Beverly Hills Cop II hits many of the same beats as the first film. Axel disobeys orders to fly to Beverly Hills and investigate the shooting of a friend. Once there, he meets resistance from the local police department, lies his way into luxurious accommodations, and causes enough chaos to smoke out the culprit. The key change to the formula is that Axel is on friendlier terms with Taggart and Rosewood, who help him out with his dubiously legal investigation.
As such, Beverly Hills Cop II is a competent comedy that misses out on some of the charm of the original. The streamlined plot drops a few of the less prominent characters from the first film, in the process omitting some of Axel’s personal connection to Los Angeles. The tone also veers toward the wilder side: Taggart and Rosewood have come around to Axel’s style of investigation, removing one of the original film’s key tensions.
In exchange, Beverly Hills Cop II boasts more action and a more elaborate investigation, addressing the weaker side of the original. Watch Beverly Hills Cop II if you enjoyed the first film or you are simply looking for an entertaining take on the crime genre. Eddie Murphy is still great to watch in action, and if the sequel lacks the finesse of the first film, it is still a funny, enjoyable watch.
6.4 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for a strong comedic lead and a decent cop plot.