जाबाज़ सिपाही: भाग - 2

I know this goes against the grain, but I did enjoy this sequel to Beverly Hills Cop more than the original. I was not the biggest fan of the first film, it had its moments, but I did really enjoy this one. This one has Foley returning to Beverly Hills to help the friends he made from the first film solve a set of robberies and a cop getting shot. I do not know, but I enjoyed the story more and I also enjoyed the inclusion of Brigitte Nielsen as the bad guy for the piece. She was rather good for a short stretch, but faded quite fast like a lot of actresses. I enjoyed the chemistry between Murphy, Reinhold and Ashton my favorite scene where Axel (Murphy) and Taggart (Ashton) were discussing Billy (Reinhold) possibly having a problem as he had quite an assortment of weapons and gun paraphernalia. The action in this one is really good too and I like the humor a bit more here too. To me it is a better film, but that is me. Most people like the first one better I imagine, I just thought this one had a bit more substance to it than the first film. I think this one is a wild ride and the cast is comfortable with their roles. I am sure we can all agree that it is a better sequel than the third movie.

Long ago, when Eddie Murphy was the biggest star in Hollywood, Beverly Hills Cop 2 was the most anticipated film of 1987. Movies like Trading Places and 48 Hours made Murphy famous. But Axel Foley made him a superstar. Impressed by Top Gun (even though it's a truly awful film), Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer brought Tony Scott on board to direct. What they forgot to do was polish the script.

Foley returns to Beverly Hills to help solve 'The Alphabet Crimes' after his old pal Lt. Bogomil is gunned down in the street. With Taggart and Rosewood in tow (now actually doing police work instead of standing by) Axel uncovers a seriously convoluted conspiracy.

The story should have taken a back seat to allow Murphy to work over the massive holes in the plot with his distracting wisecracks. I won't lie to you, there are some utterly horrible contrivances in BHC2 (Bogomil's daughter digging up dirt at the insurance company she just happens to work at is honestly the most obnoxious movie coincidence of all time), but you'll just have to suffer them.

This might have been easy to overlook, but Tony Scott, still finding his feet as a director, and his editors turn a great deal of the film into an incomprehensible mess. Some of the continuity errors are just baffling (where did Rosewood get the coffee cup from at the night club crash scene?) and it makes the action quite hard to follow.

However, Tony Scott's highly visual style of filmmaking is far more suiting to this kind of environment. The wealth and decadence of late 80s California is all over this movie, and it's the only aspect where it improves on the original. I doubt the latter day Scott would make the movie this way, but it's definitely the best looking of the trilogy. It's also the only one to be shot in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio (however it's Super35 instead of the superior anamorphic Panavision format).

Beverly Hills Cop is most definitely a classic, and I must say Beverly Hills Cop II lives up to the first one reasonably well. Everything that I enjoyed from the first one was carried on in this one, which is simultaneously a perk and a flaw. A perk because the style of the first was great, but a flaw because it did feel familiar in many respects. There is a little bit of a sense that if you've seen the first one, you've seen the second one. That being said this film is a hoot, and I can't wait to watch the third instalment.

The plot is all a bit ludicrous and didn't entirely make sense (to me at any rate). There was nothing too original about the core concept, feeling a bit James Bondy in a way. It wasn't bad at all, and ticked along at a zippy pace, with a good variety of action sequences, comedic moments and sharply scripted scenes. The Beverly Hills Cop films aren't really about the plot though, its all about Eddie Murphy.

He is just so god damn funny, and possibly at his comedic acting peak in the 80s. His comedic timing, body language, facial expressions are second to none, making Beverly Hills Cop II hilarious. I actually think the humour was as decent as the first film, its just the plot which doesn't match up in quality. There are several cast members returning from the first instalment, all of whom put in solid performances, but as mentioned its 100% Murphy's film.

I also just love the style of 80s films, and Beverly Hills Cop II has so many 80s trademarks. From the soundtrack to the direction to the script. Its just a blast.

Any fans of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise or Eddie Murphy in general will for sure love this film. It a bit messy in places but that never detracts from it's numerous triumphs.

Axel Foley is back in Detroit when he hears his old friend Bogomil has been shot during an investigation into the Alphabet robberies. He returns to Beverly Hills to rejoin Taggart and Rosewood in the investigation. Hooking himself up in a big mansion Axel lives well until the trio find themselve up against Maxwell Dent and Karla Fry who are planning a major arms deal with the profits from the robberies.

Never one to turn down a sequel to a hit film (how many has he done now?) Murphy returns for part 2. The first problem the film has is how to keep the material fresh. One of the first things we discover is that the producers didn't manage to answer this question very well. The plot again is nothing special – it could be any cop thriller although the action scenes are a little bigger this time around.

In terms of comedy, Murphy's shtick isn't as funny this time around as he merely wheels out the same sort of jokes all over again – we even have the difficult Lieutant from part one replaced with, you guessed it, another difficult authoruty figure! While Murphy tries hard he can't lift this the way he lifted the first one, however it still has some funny touches added.

The best addition (and one of the few that works) is Rosewood's sudden obsession with big guns – that works because it's new, but it's the only bit. Ashton replays his performance as the annoyed Taggart. The baddies are not as good as before – Nielsen is pretty vapid if you ask me, and I don't think she's sexy in the least. Prochnow is ok I guess but really can't match the `ham and eggs' haminess of Berkoff. Stockwell is a nice addition and Reiser is always watchable.

Overall it's still fun but really it's an inferior copy to the original (just like all Murphy's sequels). Lacks spark, flair and freshness but is still a passable cop comedy.

The original Beverley Hills Cop is one of those films that remains a cult classic because of the fact that it's such a product of the time it was made. This quintessential eighties style is carried over to the sequel, made three years later, and although part two; like many sequels, never quite manages that same verve as the original film - it still offers a good time, and anyone that enjoyed the first instalment (and who didn't?) will probably have a good time with this sequel too. All the main players from the original film have been rounded up once again, with Eddie Murphy heading a capable ensemble cast, lots of wisecracks and some gratuitously over the top action sequences. The plot is, as you would expect, superfluous to the style of the film; and much of the movie is simply tailored around it; but anyway, it follows maverick copper Axel Foley and his two California police cronies as they are pulled into a case known as the 'alphabet murders', which involves a robbery, a tall blonde woman and a gun shop owner.

I've got to say that Eddie Murphy's wisecracks were a lot funnier in the first film. While they were still over the top, they were at least sort of believable. Here, however, Murphy goes massively over the top, and it's hard to imagine how anyone that obnoxious doesn't end up with a cracked jaw. Anyway, Murphy obviously enjoys himself; and if you can get by the complete lack of logic, you probably will too. True to style, the action is completely over the top too; with several ridiculous sequences combining to make the movie the entertaining blockbuster that it is. The film lacks any kind of themes or substance, meaning that it will both not please serious film fans, and that this reviewer is running out of steam; but I will say that this movie does have a point to make, and that is simply entertaining it's audience. It may be completely silly, illogical fun; but some movies need to be there just to entertain, and this is one of those. I wouldn't recommend sticking this movie at the top of any must see lists, or going into with huge expectations; but it's a good time, that's for sure.