Le flic de Beverly Hills

Martin Brest has only made five feature films (Going in style, BHC, Midnight run, Scent of a woman, and Meet Joe Black), films strikingly different from one another, but that all share certain traits. They are finely crafted, energetic, and extraordinarily human. The warmth and friendship shine through, even through the gun- and fist-play which are obligatory in a cops-and-robbers movie. This is one of the first and best prototypes of the buddy movie.

Brest's casting is superb, and he elicits performances which are often the best of even young actors' careers. Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, and Ronnie Cox are outstanding, and the ensemble clicks like a well-oiled infield. To me, this movie is still far and away Eddie Murphy's best performance. He is remarkably talented, a comic genius. As an actor, his expressions are sometimes outlandish, but always completely in character, and appropriate to the dramatic situation. Villain Victor Maitland (played by Steven Berkoff, the husband of Alberta Watson, Madeline in La Femme Nikita) is chillingly underplayed; the cold-blooded evil shines through the civilized facade.

BHC is one of the few movies which I can watch with my loved ones again and again and never tire. Even as a comedy, it has a solidness and integrity which make it extremely durable. I look forward eagerly to Martin Brest's next film. Meanwhile, I always have Beverly Hills Cop.

Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is a brash young Detroit cop. His childhood friend Mikey returns from LA having crossed the wrong people. Mikey is executed while out with Axel. Axel doesn't get the murder case. So instead he takes his vacation time in Beverly Hills to investigate. There he runs into cops who do things a little differently.

It's a simple formula of action and Eddie Murphy hijinx. Eddie Murphy makes jokes, do the action thing, and create havoc. Young Judge Reinhold, grisly John Ashton, and by-the-books Ronny Cox play the Beverly Hills cops. There is the clash of culture, and Murphy's hilarious laugh. This is a star vehicle for Eddie Murphy, and he drives it with style.

This film came out, Eddie Murphy's star was still rising and this pretty much was the pinnacle of his career. This film is a funny, fast paced, action filled fun ride and Murphy really made the film an enjoyable experience. Thank God that Sylvester Stallone backed out because I feel the film would have been a very dark intense film. At least Murphy made Axel into a smart aleck who helped to lighten the mood of the film. Also, the one underrated performance has to have been Judge Reinhold. Reinhold makes an art of playing slightly goofy out of it characters and his portrayal of Detective Billy Rosewood was a perfect example of that and John Ashton was the perfect foil as Taggart. This is definitely one of the top films of the 1980's

Eddie Murphy became a true bankable superstar with "Beverly Hills Cop". The film is an unconventional detective story that has Murphy, a Detroit police officer, go to Beverly Hills after his close friend is killed. Murphy wants to find out who killed his friend and why. What he discovers is one of the largest illegal drug fronts around in an art museum. Now it is up to Murphy to bring down the bad guys and save the day. "Beverly Hills Cop" is a film that showed the greatness of the 1980s. A pop-culture, box office hit that was funny and full of action and sported a smashing soundtrack. A nice film that is one of the most memorable money-makers of the decade that was the 80s. 4 stars out of 5.

I must be honest, I was never interested in watching 'Beverly Hills Cop', as I was under the impression it was a slapstick comedy. Whatever made me decide to watch this, I don't know, but on the spur of the moment I opted for this movie, and I'm glad I did.

I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was it actually funny (and not slapstick), it was an entertaining action movie with great stunts, good action sequences - especially the opening scene! - and darn good acting from Eddie Murphy. He was just hilarious. I loved the characters and the somewhat unusual circumstances they often found themselves in. Not only was Eddie Murphy's character, Axel Foley, funny, but his practical jokes on colleagues were also funny.

To add to this, it was a really good story. I found it interesting and fun to watch all the way. I also loved the soundtrack. You gotta love those 80s action movies! 'Beverly Hills Cop' was indeed a nice surprise.