Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F slated by critics for having 'nothing to say'

The Beverly Hills Cop franchise has been given a new lease of life with a fourth film marking the return of Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley.

Netflix's imaginatively titled sequel Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F returns to Foley 30 years after the events of the third film, this time he returns to his old turf and reunites with old friends after his daughter Jane's (Taylour Paige) life is threatened. The film is an action-packed comedy full of nostalgia and old favourites, with a new villain for Foley to contend with too.

Read more: What happened in the Beverly Hills Cop movies

Critics were largely underwhelmed by the film, with some exceptions, and shared why a nostalgia-led narrative proved more of a hindrance than help.

Evening Standard's Tom Davidson was fair in his criticism of the film, saying that the Netflix sequel is "a lot better than" the 1994 Beverly Hills Cop 3, but that it "still fails to hold a candle to that lightning-in-a-bottle 1984 original."

Davidson wrote: "But for the addition of the father-daughter dynamic between Foley and his daughter, this could almost pass as a remake of Foley's first trip out west."

The critic celebrated Murphy and Paige's dynamic onscreen even so, saying that Paige was the highlight of the film, and arguing that "there’s still enough here to please the die-hards". But there was one thing that lets the film down, its CGI and how "so much of the action looks cheap" despite its big budget.

The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey was more to the point with her criticism, comparing the film to another franchise return, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, by writing: "Bad Boys owes a large chunk of its existence to Beverly Hills Cop, and yet that franchise has succeeded in maturing where this one has certainly failed. A lot of it has to do with the simple acknowledgement that time has passed."

Loughrey added: "The film has the confidence to poke fun at the franchise’s infamously bad third entry, yet comes to the table with nothing to prove, nothing to say, and nothing for Murphy to work with."

Variety's Owen Gleiberman argued that being overly reliant on nostalgia in Hollywood can be "axiomatic", it can sometimes work and other times turn out terrible. Of where Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F stood, the critic wrote that it is "plotted like a generic police-corruption thriller, lit with cruddy efficiency, pausing every 10 minutes or so for a 'light' moment".

Saying that the film is "no Beverly Hills Cop", the critic then conceded: "But it’s better than the ballistic noise orgy that was Beverly Hills Cop II or the clunky retro mess of Beverly Hills Cop III, so I guess we should be grateful. And I suspect that a lot of viewers who grew up in the ’80s will be."

Read more: Everything we know about Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney was more ruthless with his critique, writing: "The shortage of fresh perspective, the absence of excitement and the slavishness with which the filmmakers stick to the original formula in one unimaginative action sequence after another makes the sequel seem past its expiration date."

Digital Spy's Ian Sandwell felt similarly about the movie, writing that the film had a "will this do energy" to it that meant it was overly reliant on Easter eggs to get the job done.

The critic wrote: "For some fans, that might be enough and it is fun to see Eddie Murphy back in one of his most iconic roles. But while Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F picks up considerably in its final act, you'll be better off rewatching the first movie instead."

The Telegraph's Robbie Collin was more enamoured by the film, writing that Murphy is on "Murphy is on bright, lively form" while director Mark Molloy was able to "uncannily recreate the original film’s rhythm, texture and spirit" in the sequel.

Collin added: "The photography has grubbiness and grain, with sunsets that feel baked into the celluloid. The plot is stunningly arbitrary – an excuse to cycle the now-63-year-old Murphy through a string of fast-talking skits of variable quality. Vehicular pursuits are crunchy, honest and numerous. And Lorne Balfe’s synth score is outrageously prominent, with its regular re-workings of Harold Faltermeyer’s classic keyboard-prodding theme."

It'll be up to viewers to decide how they feel about the film, though, and many may well enjoy the nostalgia-driven story just like critics predict.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is out on Netflix now.