Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

It’s better than you had any right to expect it to be.

Murphy might be one of the most talented performers of any generation and it’s thrilling to see him back in the role that turned him into a movie star.

The heat is definitely off.

Despite its reliance on the familiar, Axel F actually is largely a good time, so breezy and insistent on not taking itself too seriously that you can’t even get mad when the dialogue occasionally sounds like it got pumped out by ChatGPT.

It’s not unentertaining -- the blast force of Murphy’s charisma alone carries the picture... It is, however, lazy, formulaic stuff that diminishes the brash brilliance and danger of the actor’s early career work.

... Hop into your busted blue Chevy Nova, hightail it past the Beverly Hills city limits and never look back.

Murphy slides back into the character like a well-worn glove, although the added dimensions he brings to Axel through age and experience give the film the distinction it needed to justify its existence.

The good thing is Eddie Murphy wears the role like he wears that trademark coat, with the ease of a veteran funnyman who knows how to steer an action comedy. John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Paul Reiser all return classily to their respective roles.

A desolately plotted excavation of Eddie Murphy's first iconic role, the fourth installment of Beverly Hills Cop is functional nostalgia porn crafted solely to replay the greatest hits but not daring to say anything new.

It certainly helps that a couple of one-liners are absolutely gut-busting, while apparently no expense was spared with the destructive stunts in this strangely comforting, low-stakes actioner.