Summary
- Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F tops Netflix charts, receiving a 65% Tomatometer score and 78% audience approval.
- The film's success highlights Netflix as a platform for franchises to find success that might be elusive in theaters.
- Eddie Murphy is also set to return for Shrek 5 and a Donkey spin-off, further solidifying his comeback in Hollywood.
Eddie Murphy has brought Axel Foley back to screens with a bang, landing Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F a place at the top of the global Netflix chart. After spending the last few weeks building up hype for the movie, it seems that in terms of viewership, the gamble of returning to a franchise that disappointed with its last entry 20 years ago seems to have paid off.
Netflix has become the place for many films to find the kind of success that could have eluded them if they had been given a full theatrical release. This is potentially true of Murphy’s new Beverly Hills Cop movie, as despite the nostalgic pull of an ‘80s franchise, and several key characters from the original movies reprising their roles, the film has not received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley is the fourth film in the popular comedy franchise starring Eddie Murphy. Murphy returns as Axel Foley in the Netflix film alongside returning cast members Judge Reinhold and John Ashton and Bronson Pinchot as Serge. Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt also star in the sequel as new characters.
- Release Date
- July 3, 2024
- Director
- Mark Molloy
- Cast
- Eddie Murphy , Kevin Bacon , John Ashton , Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Paul Reiser , Judge Reinhold
- Runtime
- 1h 55m
- Main Genre
- Action
- Writers
- Will Beall , Tom Gormican , Kevin Etten
- Studio
- Eddie Murphy Productions, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Netflix
- Studio(s)
- Paramount Pictures , Jerry Bruckheimer Films , Eddie Murphy Productions
- Distributor(s)
- Netflix
- prequel(s)
- Beverly Hills Cop , Beverly Hills Cop 2 , Beverly Hills Cop 3
- Franchise(s)
- Beverly Hills Cop
The movie is currently holding a “fresh” Tomatometer score, but only just, with 65%. Audiences, on the other hand, welcomed the new movie with a strong 78% approval rate. When compared to the previous movies in the franchise, it is clear that Murphy has delivered a belated sequel that seems to have done exactly what it needed to in order to redeem the franchise’s third movie. The Beverly Hills Cop franchise currently holds these scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
Title |
Tomatometer Score |
Audience Score |
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) |
83% |
82% |
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) |
48% |
58% |
Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) |
11% |
35% |
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024) |
65% |
78% |
Based on this result, it is clear that Murphy has not only put to rest the disappointment of the previous two installments of the action-comedy franchise, but almost managed to equal the 40-year-old movie that started it all off…at least in the eyes of the always-important viewers. While there is no word on whether Murphy will be bringing more Axel Foley to screens in the future, it seems like that might not be out of the question.
Eddie Murphy’s Comeback will Include a Shrek Return
In the last few years, Eddie Murphy has revisited several of his most memorable movies with new sequels. As well as Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley and 2021’s Coming 2 America, Murphy has recently confirmed that he has two Shrek projects in the works. While there have been several rumors about the Dreamworks franchise’s future, it was only during a recent interview that the actor revealed that he has already recorded lines for Shrek 5, and a spin-off project focused on his character, the loud-mouthed Donkey. In an interview with Collider, Murphy revealed:
“We started doing Shrek 4 or [Shrek] 5 months ago. I did this [Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F], I recorded the first act, and we'll be doing it this year, we'll finish it up. Shrek is coming out, and Donkey's gonna have his own movie. We're gonna do Donkey as well. So we're gonna do a Shrek, and we're doing a Donkey [movie].”
Eddie Murphy Has an Unexpected Opinion on His 1996 Comedy The Nutty Professor
Eddie Murphy reflects on his comedy remake of The Nutty Professor in a more positive way than many.
With Murphy’s star being on the rise once more in Hollywood, there is no telling which other movies from the actor’s past could be getting a new sequel in the future, but in the meantime, fans of Axel Foley can catch up on his latest outing in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F on Netflix now.