The best Eddie Murphy movies, according to fans

As you'd expect, a certain green ogre and donkey make his Top 10.

Dan Seddon
·4-min read
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 28: Eddie Murphy attends the World Premiere of Amazon Prime Video's
Eddie Murphy. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Eddie Murphy is still going strong after 42 years in the glitzy business of Hollywood, with his latest movie Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F now streaming on Netflix.

Having earned his comic stripes on Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s, Murphy soon established himself as the guaranteer of bums on seats when it came to big-screen projects. Franchises such as Shrek, The Nutty Professor and Beverly Hills Cop may be where his most famous characters operate, but they're just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the legend's talent.

He's so popular that his CV has amassed over $6.7 billion in box office receipts, while Dreamgirls director Bill Condon managed to draw an Oscar-nominated performance out of Murphy in 2006 (he lost in the Best Supporting Actor category to the late Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine).

To celebrate his reprisal of detective Axel Foley, let's dig into Murphy's 10 highest-rated movies on IMDb.

USA. Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy in a scene from the (C)DreamWorks film: Shrek (2001). Plot: A mean lord exiles fairytale creatures to the swamp of a grumpy ogre, who must go on a quest and rescue a princess for the lord in order to get his land back. Ref: LMK110-J8838-080323 Supplied by LMKMEDIA. Editorial Only. Landmark Media is not the copyright owner of these Film or TV stills but provides a service only for recognised Media outlets. pictures@lmkmedia.com
Donkey and Shrek. (DreamWorks)

Unquestionably Murphy's biggest ever role is that of wisecracking Donkey in animated classic Shrek. Emerging back in 2001 and loosely adapting William Steig's picture book, the first movie follows the titular grumpy ogre (voiced in a Scottish twang by Mike Myers) whose swamp becomes overrun by exiled fairytale creatures.

That's when Shrek meets Donkey, who ventures with him to the dominion of Lord Farquaad to settle the dispute.

Mushu & Mulan Film: Mulan (USA 1998) Characters: Mushu & Mulan Director: Tony Bancroft & Barry Cook 05 June 1998 **WARNING** This Photograph is for editorial use only and is the copyright of WALT DISNEY PICTURES and/or the Photographer assigned by the Film or Production Company and can only be reproduced by publications in conjunction with the promotion of the above Film. A Mandatory Credit To WALT DISNEY PICTURES is required. The Photographer should also be credited when known. No commercial use can be granted without written authority from the Film Company.
Mushu and Mulan. (Walt Disney Pictures)

Three years earlier came Walt Disney Pictures animation Mulan, with Murphy breathing life into the heroine's mini dragon sidekick Mushu this time around.

Apparently, producers were keen to replicate the magic mixture of Aladdin with his casting, following the iconic Genie performance of fellow comedian Robin Williams.

MR. CHURCH, Eddie Murphy, 2016, © Cinelou Releasing / courtesy Everett Collection
Mr. Church. (Cinelou Releasing)

In a less showy part, Murphy portrayed Henry Joseph Church in this underseen 2016 drama; a cook who becomes the caretaker and father figure to three generations of women.

Natasha McElhone of The Truman Show and Californication fame co-stars.

USA. Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy in the (C)Paramount Pictures film: Trading Places (1983) . Plot: A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires. Ref: LMK110-J10315-091123 Supplied by LMKMEDIA. Editorial Only. Landmark Media is not the copyright owner of these Film or TV stills but provides a service only for recognised Media outlets. pictures@lmkmedia.com
Opposite Dan Aykroyd's Louis Winthorpe III. (Paramount Pictures)

Teaming up with An American Werewolf in London director John Landis for this one, Murphy was unleashed alongside Dan Aykroyd in 1983 comedy Trading Places, which was originally a vehicle for Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor.

It tells the tale of minted commodities broker Louis Winthorpe III and street hustler Billy Ray Valentine, who are unwittingly made the targets of a bet on how each would perform when they swap lives.

USA. Ronny Cox and Eddie Murphy in a scene from the ©Paramount Pictures movie: Beverly Hills Cop (1984). Plot: A freewheeling Detroit cop - Axel Foley , pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills. Ref: LMK110-J6744-170820 Supplied by LMKMEDIA. Editorial Only. Landmark Media is not the copyright owner of these Film or TV stills but provides a service only for recognised Media outlets. pictures@lmkmedia.com
The very first Axel Foley outing. (Paramount Pictures)

1984 marked the first-ever appearance of Axel Foley on screen in Beverly Hills Cop - he's a streetwise detective from Detroit who turns his eye towards Beverly Hills when his best mate gets murdered.

For fans of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, it's also worth a look to catch Mike Ehrmantraut himself Jonathan Banks as the character Zack.

SHREK 2, PUSS IN BOOTS, DONKEY, 2004
Puss in Boots getting evils. (DreamWorks)

Shrek 2 ranks in at Number 6 thanks to another golden effort as goofball Donkey. In it, Murphy and Mike Myers continue to bounce off each other while Antonio Banderas joins the party as the Zorro-esque Puss in Boots.

It became the highest-grossing movie of 2004, impressively.

Dolemite Is My Name is a 2019 American biographical comedy film directed by Craig Brewer and written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The film stars Eddie Murphy as filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore, who is best known for having portrayed the character of Dolemite in both his stand-up routine and a series of blaxploitation films, which started with Dolemite in 1975. This photograph is for editorial use only and is the copyright of the film company and/or the photographer assigned by the film or production company and can only be reproduced by publications in conjunction with the promotion of
Playing filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore. (Netflix)

Netflix's comedy biopic Dolemite is My Name had Murphy in the shoes of real-life filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore - nicknamed the 'Godfather of Rap' - with The Holdovers actress Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Rock, Wesley Snipes and Craig Robinson offering solid support.

Its 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes cannot be ignored, either.

MURPHY,HALL, COMING TO AMERICA, 1988,
Murphy and Wesley Snipes in their earlier days. (Paramount Pictures)

Another from director Landis, Coming to America came from the mind of Murphy himself.

Released in the summer of 1988, it had the actor in the lead role of crown prince Akeem Joffer, who journeys from his home nation of Zamunda to the States in the hope of romancing a woman who'll love him for who he is and not just for his royal status.

48 HEURES48 HOURS 48 HRS. 1982 de Walter Hill Eddie Murphy. COLLECTION CHRISTOPHEL © Paramount Pictures - Lawrence Gordon Productions action; buddy mo
Buddy action movie 48 Hrs. (Paramount Pictures)

48 Hrs. is notable for featuring Murphy in his movie debut. Alongside The Mandalorian's Nick Nolte, he starred as a convict who teams up with a policeman to stop two ruthless criminals.

They literally have two days to do so.

Eddie Murphy & Martin Lawrence Film: Life (1999) Characters: Rayford Gibson & Claude Banks Director: Ted Demme 13 April 1999 **WARNING** This Photograph is for editorial use only and is the copyright of UNIVERSAL and/or the Photographer assigned by the Film or Production Company and can only be reproduced by publications in conjunction with the promotion of the above Film. A Mandatory Credit To UNIVERSAL is required. The Photographer should also be credited when known. No commercial use can be granted without written authority from the Film Company.
In a genuine cult classic. (Universal)

1999 brought Murphy fans a future cult classic in buddy-comedy Life, which marked the second time he'd worked with Martin Lawrence after Boomerang seven years prior.

Life unfolds as a story told by an elderly prisoner; his friends Ray and Claude are wrongly sentenced to life behind bars. Renowned makeup artist Rick Baker was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the movie.

Latest stories