Beverly Hills Cop

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

  • 83% of critics liked it
    (40 reviews)

  • 73% of users liked it
    (354,271 ratings)

What's that wisecracking young black guy (Eddie Murphy) in that beat-up Chevy Nova doing in lily-white Beverly Hills? He's Axel Foley, a Detroit detective who's been sent on involuntary vacation because he refuses to drop his intention of avenging his friend's murder. Warned by Beverly Hills police… More

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R, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By
Martin Brest
Written By
Daniel Petrie
Genres
Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy
In Theaters
Dec 1, 1984 Wide
On DVD
Jan 29, 2002
Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

    Murphy exudes the kind of cheeky, cocky charm that has been missing from the screen since Cagney was a pup, snarling his way out of the ghetto.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    It's one of the few star comedies of the early 80s to allot some humor and personality to the minor characters.

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    Expectations that Eddie Murphy's street brand of rebelliousness would devastate staid and glittery Beverly Hills are not entirely met in a film that grows increasingly dramatic.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    Eddie Murphy looks like the latest victim of the Star Magic Syndrome, in which it is assumed that a movie will be a hit simply because it stars an enormously talented person.

  • Janet Maslin, New York Times

    Mr. Murphy knows exactly what he's doing, and he wins at every turn.

Read all 14 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Jeff "


    Beverly Hills Cop is along with the first Lethal Weapon one of best buddy cop action films that blends bits of humor. Eddie Murphy gives a good performance here. The film works well as an action comedy, and this is one of the few films of Eddie Murphy's that I really enjoyed. He… More

  • Directors C


    Eddie Murphy performs fantastically as a street smart cop who does things a bit differently yet at the same time amazingly he brings the laughs along to a serious plotline.

  • Ken S


    It's hard to judge Beverly Hills Cop as the movie with modern Eyes. It's has been borrowed from, stolen from and imitated so much that most of it seems unoriginal. That said, it's a fun, easy to watch movie with a great performance by Murphy.

  • xGary X


    A streetwise cop from the projects of Detroit goes to Beverly Hills to investigate the execution-style murder of a childhood friend. Beverly Hills Cop was one of the first wave of 80s action-comedies that conquered the American box office and is still a formula followed to this day.… More

  • AJ V


    I love this classic 80s action comedy movie! It has a fantastic cast and lots of humour, and it's so fun. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

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Trailers & Clips

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