When director Mark Molloy signed on to direct “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” the fourth movie in the beloved action comedy franchise starring Eddie Murphy, he had to admit something to the franchise’s producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
“I said to him, ‘Jerry, I’ve never seen the third one,'” Molloy recalled to Business Insider, referring to 1994’s “Beverly Hills Cop III.” “Jerry told me, ‘You don’t need to watch that one. I didn’t make the third one. I’ve never watched it.'”
The first movie, “Beverly Hills Cop,” came out in 1984 and turned Murphy into one of the biggest box-office draws in the world. Three years later, the sequel, “Beverly Hills Cop II,” was another hit, solidifying Bruckheimer and producing partner Dom Simpson’s “high concept” style of moviemaking with its straightforward, easy-to-understand but exhilarating stories.
Paramount Pictures
So the 1994 release of “Beverly Hills Cop III” was highly anticipated. The problem was that Bruckheimer and Simpson (who were also known for “Flashdance” and “Top Gun”) had exited the franchise due to creative differences. Murphy went forward alongside new producers and director John Landis (“Animal House,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video).
The movie, which found Murphy’s wise-cracking Detroit cop Axel Foley fighting crime at an amusement park and featured an out-of-left-field cameo by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, was universally panned by critics and has since been criticized by Murphy himself.
The star described the movie as “atrocious” in a 2006 episode of “Inside the Actors Studio.”
“The character was kind of banished for a while [from Hollywood],” Murphy said in the episode, referring to the reception of the third movie.
Michael Buckner/Getty
Now, Bruckheimer has returned to the franchise and has been working with everyone from Brett Ratner to new “Bad Boys” franchise directors Adil and Bilall to get a fourth movie just right.
With Netflix backing and Molloy at the helm, “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” will be released on the streaming giant on July 3. It marks Molloy’s feature-directing debut after years of commercial work and brings the franchise back to its roots with thrilling action sequences and R-rated humor.
“Whatever has been said about the third one, I’m not going to say a word,” Molloy said. “I love the first two films, and I’ve grabbed onto them with both hands with a lot of love.”
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