Classic Movie Review Beverly Hills Cop 3

Beverly Hills Cop 3 (1994) 

Directed by John Landis 

Written by Steven E. de Souza 

Starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Hector Elizondo, John Saxon, Theresa Randle

Release Date May 25th, 1994

Published May 27th, 2024 

Screenwriting 101: if you want to establish that your character is heroic, show them doing something heroic. For instance, in the movie Beverly Hills Cop 3, Eddie Murphy hops aboard the Spider ride at Wonder World. The baddies want the ride stopped so they can snatch Eddie off of the ride. As they fight with the ride operator, the ride gets turned up to 11 and the machinery of the ride starts to break down. This causes one of the gondolas on the Spider ride, one carrying two young children, to come loose and begin to break off. 

Not missing a beat, our hero, Axl Foley (Eddie Murphy), leaps into action. Risking his own life, Axl climbs out of his gondola and begins leaping to the tops of other gondolas. As this happens, the ride begins to move again, nearly causing Axl to fall to his death. As Axl is climbing his way toward the broken gondola, after finding a conveniently placed length of rope, the ride stops and the chain holding the broken gondola begins to break further. Axl uses the rope to lower himself down to the door of the gondola. He pulls the kids out of the broken ride and, as he's climbing down the rope, the broken gondola finally breaks and begins to fall. Axl reaches the ground and narrowly gets himself and the kids to safety just as the gondola drops. 

The scene establishes that our protagonist is a selfless hero, a man willing to risk his life to save innocent children. Here's the problem though, this is Beverly Hills Cop 3. Two previous movies have already established that Axl Foley is a hero. We've seen Axl Foley perform heroic acts as a police officer in both Detroit and Beverly Hills in two different movies. Thus, spending a 7-to-8-minute scene re-establishing Axl's heroic nature is a gigantic waste of screen time. Sure, there's a chance that some of the audience hasn't seen the previous two Beverly Hills Cop movies before, they may not be aware of Axl's heroism. But they are seeing a movie called Beverly Hills Cop 3, they are probably aware that the main character of this third movie in a franchise is a hero in the movie they are watching. 

Bottom line, this scene is a gigantic waste of time. It's a bit of business and a not a particularly interesting one. There is no chance in hell that either Axl or the two children he's saving in this scenario, happening in the early portion of the second act, are going to die. We have no reason to worry or be tense about this moment. During this entire scene, Beverly Hills Cop 3 is spinning its wheels, it's going nowhere. We are watching a tension free action scene that has nothing to do with the plot of the movie. In fact, the movie has to place the plot on hold just to carry out this scene. The scene is deathless in length and since the outcome is assured, we have zero reason to be invested in this scenario. 

That scene I just described is a perfect microcosm of Beverly Hills Cop 3, a movie that is constantly spinning its wheels and going nowhere. It's clear from frame one to frame last that no one involved wanted to be part of this movie. Subsequently, we've learned from director John Landis and supporting actor Bronson Pinchot, that Eddie Murphy was completely checked out and had no interest in making the movie. According to both, a scene where Pinchot's character, Serge, delivers a comic monologue had to be played opposite John Landis standing in for Eddie Murphy, because Murphy could not be bothered to leave his trailer to do coverage or be there for his co-star. 

In fairness to Eddie, this monologue is entirely devoid of laughs and while it serves the purpose of introducing a weapon that Eddie will use later in the film, the weapon is a gag and not a very funny one. The weapon in question is used not in the final showdown of the movie, but as a brief, needless side quest where it malfunctions and then over-performs the task of taking out a random henchman. The gag is that the gun has a lot of needless features like a radio, a net that fails its function, and a radio that gets turned on. The song on the radio is meant to be a punchline but the song is so generic and forgettable that the joke doesn't land. 

The plot of Beverly Hills Cop 3 is not important. The movie reflects this by barely mentioning the plot. A vehicle gets stolen in Detroit and cut to Axle in Beverly Hills going to see his friend Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold). What made Axle go to L.A? The movie doesn't bother to tell us. It's fair to assume he was going there just from the title, but, at the very least, each of the previous movies gave Axle a reason to go to Beverly Hills via some sort of established link in the case he's investigating in Detroit. Beverly Hills Cop 3 is so lazy that the editor appears to have thrown up their hands and just cut to Axle in Beverly Hills and, oh by the way, the bad guys are here also. 

I don't need to over-egg the recipe here; Beverly Hills Cop 3 is a terrible movie. The only interesting aspect of the movie for me is related to a piece of backstage gossip. Apparently, Eddie Murphy and John Landis had a severe falling out during the making of the movie. On IMDB, they cite an interview in which Eddie Murphy said that he would work with John Landis again as soon as Vic Morrow works with John Landis again. If you know, you know, that is a dark joke and a truly sick burn You can follow this link to understand the context of that cutting insult. 

Beverly Hills Cop 3 is the subject of the newest edition of the I Hate Critics 1994 Podcast, a spinoff of the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast. Each week, I subject Gen-Z'er M.J and Gen X'er Amy, to a movie that was released in theaters 30 years ago that week. The goal is to examine how movies and popular culture have changed in just the last 30 years. You can listen to the I Hate Critics 1994 Podcast on the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast feed wherever you listen to podcasts. If you're wondering whether Amy, M.J, and I are aware of Beverly Hills Cop 4 coming to Netflix this summer? Yes, and we are significantly unexcited about it. 

Find my archive of more than 20 years and more than 2000 movie reviews at SeanattheMovies.blogspot.com. Find my modern review archive on my Vocal Profile, linked here. Follow me on Twitter at PodcastSean. Follow the archive blog on Twitter at SeanattheMovies. Listen to me talk about movies on the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast. If you have enjoyed what you have read, consider subscribing to my writing on Vocal. If you'd like to support my writing, you can do so by making a monthly pledge or by leaving a one time tip. Thanks! 

Eddie Murphy's Biggest Movie Mistakes

Originally Published in November 2011 to accompany the release of the long forgotten comedy, Tower Heist. 

Eddie Murphy returns to theaters on Friday, November 4, in the comedy "Tower Heist," co-starring Ben Stiller and directed by "Rush Hour" director Brett Ratner. "Tower Heist" looks a like a potential hit given the heavy promotion the film is getting from Universal Pictures. If "Tower Heist" does become a hit it will be remembered as a good decision by an actor who has a history of making very bad decisions. Here's a look back at some of Eddie Murphy's biggest career blunders.

"Imagine That"

In "Imagine That" Murphy delivers a dull family movie about a father bonding with his daughter after he discovers that her imaginary friends can help him predict the stock market. "Imagine That" failed with critics and at the box office, earning a 38 percent positive rating at Rottentomatoes.com and a meager $16 million at the domestic box office.

"Meet Dave"

How "Meet Dave" made it past the planning stages is a major question mark. The story finds Murphy in the dual role of a humanoid robot and the leader of the robot's miniature alien crew. Among critics, "Meet Dave" was blasted even worse than "Imagine That," with USA Today critic Claudia Puig calling the story "dull, witless and hackneyed." Among moviegoers, the project was among the biggest bombs of Murphy's career, earning a disastrous $11 million at the domestic box office. Ouch!

"Beverly Hills Cop III"

The original "Beverly Hills Cop" grossed over $230 million in the United States. "Beverly Hills Cop II" was slightly less successful than the original but still grossed over $150 million domestic. Seven years after "Beverly Hills Cop II," Murphy went back to the character of Axel Foley in hope of reviving his fading star-power following the diminishing returns for "Another 48 Hours," "Boomerang," and "The Distinguished Gentleman." The result was both a box office and critical failure. "Beverly Hills Cop III" grossed barely a quarter of what the original brought in at the box office 10 years earlier. As for critics, the same people who hailed Murphy's arrival in "Beverly Hills Cop" were mostly embarrassed for the desperate and unfunny Murphy in "Beverly Hills Cop III."

"The Adventures of Pluto Nash"

"The Adventures of Pluto Nash" is a legendary blunder. This sci-fi comedy starring Murphy as a nightclub owner on the moon, who travels the galaxy to investigate who burned his club down, cost more than $100 million dollars to make and took in an apocalyptic $4 million at the domestic box office. Not surprisingly, critics lambasted "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" -- for being a bad movie and for wasting the equivalent of the annual budget of your average small, island nation.

"Norbit"

Here we have a unique point in Eddie Murphy's career. Yes, "Norbit," the story of a nerdy kid who finds himself dragged into a marriage with a horrible overweight woman, also played by Murphy, was a hit, earning nearly $100 million at the box office. However, "Norbit" arrived in theaters in February 2007 with ads featuring Murphy in a fat-suit pretending to be his own wife, just as Murphy was campaigning for his very first Oscar for his role in "Dreamgirls." It is believed, though it cannot be proved, that "Norbit" cost Murphy an Academy Award, thus earning the film a place on the list of Eddie's biggest blunders.