Mark Molloy’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” belongs to the crop of sequels that don’t demand much association with what has preceded it. Sure, the development of camaraderie among some characters and the etching of friendship may be more appealing and properly engaging if one comes with knowledge of how they fell into place. Even then, it’s not entirely necessary. The film rides on quick, snappy banter and good cheer. Nuances are pretty much lost in a jumble of high-octane chase sequences, full-fledged shootout action, and an interweaving of emotionally accented attempts to rebuild a tender relationship.
To what degree these strands land varies is contingent on the viewer’s expectations. If one approaches the film anticipating a lot of fluff, he may not be so disappointed. The film moves swiftly, leaving no time for quiet character movements. In the spare moments it finds space for those, the viewer senses the urgency of the filmmaker to ramp up things, not stall the dramatic action and jostle ahead. This is why the sequel is not as strained as one may think. There’s a brisk, businesslike pace with which everything struts forward; introspection and positive evaluation do interrupt. That’s the weakest link in the film.
There is the effort the film advances in establishing the fraught relationship between the father and daughter. However, there’s nothing spectacularly fresh or revealing in the ways Molloy handles the tension and lack of concord in the relationship. There’s a great deal of souring, stubbornness, and a refusal to apologize. Both are headstrong. When the father, Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), does come around to acknowledge and admit the resounding truth in his aggrieved daughter, Jane Saunders’ (Taylour Paige) argument, it may be tough to wholly buy into it.
The change of heart is a little jarring and feels neatly manufactured to suit a sweet ending. Axel and Jane haven’t spoken to each other in years when the film opens. While he is hopeful of restarting the relationship with a more healing purpose, she has fully abandoned the thought. However, he is always watching out for her. Jane, a defence attorney, lands herself in a soup when she takes up the case of a ‘cop killer’. The person had been wrongly framed, as she discovers. She vows to fight for him as determinedly as she can, even while she realizes the extent of danger that streaks the path to justice.
Everything is pitted against her since the machinery itself will not take kindly to her for suggesting something is corrupt and skewed in the police. She is bold enough to assert there’s been a cover-up. Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), working in the Beverly Hills police force, gets wind of what’s actually happening as he teams up with her to uncover the truth. He is very close to piecing the puzzle together, but courts danger too directly. His sudden disappearance, right after requesting Axel to come down to Beverly Hills, instantly provokes Axel to set down on the trail of clues.
The fact that his daughter is in immediate danger only intensifies his desire to nab the truly culpable. She, however, couldn’t care less. She seeks to detach herself emotionally and solely associate with him due to the necessity of her client. He tries to snake himself into developing an equation with her that’s full of joking, ribbing, and teasing. As much as she attempts not to be swayed by the lightness of his being, she cannot help being charmed and emotionally drawn back to her father. But she does make clear the weight and impetus of her grievances.
Mark Molloy’s film persistently foregrounds this relationship as it navigates a mesh of high-stakes situations in which the duo gets themselves ensnared. Both have the smarts and confidence to make their way out of each perilous circumstance and emerge triumphant. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F does feel stretched way past the usual course. Thankfully, Murphy and Paige share an ease that makes the film breezy and believable, even if the final reconciliation tests the limits of credence.
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