The Mayhem Critic
Aloha, my fellow readers. It is I, the great James Stryker and I am here to bring you another hilarious chapter of The Mayhem Critic. Today, it's a very special Mayhem Critic chapter as Sean the Mayhem Critic reviews one of his favorite comedies of all time, and it is the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop. Not only that, he's going to take a look at all three of the Beverly Hills Cop movies to see how well they hold up. So sit back and relax because we're going deep, deep, deep, deep undercover. This is the newest chapter of The Mayhem Critic. Enjoy.
P.S.: I do not own anything involved in this story. All rights and references belong to their respective sources. The Beverly Hills Cop trilogy is owned by Paramount Pictures.
Episode 173
Beverly Hills Cop Trilogy
(We open with the Mayhem Critic intro. After the intro ends, we open with our favorite residential movie critic Sean J. Archer, a.k.a. the Mayhem Critic, sitting on his couch in his living room as he prepares to talk about today's topic)
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Sean the Mayhem Critic, the critic that rips movies a new one. Have I ever talked about these movies yet?" Sean asked as the movie posters for Beverly Hills Cop I-III are shown.
(The respective title screens for the Beverly Hills Cop movies are shown while "Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer plays in the background)
Sean: (Narrating) Yeah, looks like I'm in an Eddie Murphy mood and I think it's a right time to talk about these three movies. I used to watch them when I was like 12 and when I got older. Even when I got older, I actually remember all three films and was quoting lines of dialogue to myself and some of my friends. Hell, I even hum Axel F because I remember listening to that iconic theme on the radio in my grandma's car when I was younger. Now, I know that a lot of you want me to talk about these three movies to see how well they hold up.
"I just want to let you all know that this is my personal opinion on these movies. And growing up watching these movies, I loved them. Well, only two of them but we'll get to that one later." Sean said.
(Cut to the first Beverly Hills Cop movie. The title screen is shown)
Sean: (Narrating) Beverly Hills Cop was released in theaters on December 5th, 1985 and it was directed by Martin Brest, who would go on to direct the critically acclaimed action comedy Midnight Run, the Al Pacino drama Scent of a Woman, Meet Joe Black starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins and of course, the film that killed his career Gigli starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. The movie stars Eddie Murphy, who was already a household name with his standup comedy and as one of the cast members of Saturday Night Live back in 1980 and with films like 48 Hrs. and Trading Places, this movie shot Murphy to international stardom. So, what is the movie about? It's about Axel Foley, played by Eddie Murphy, a young detective in the Detroit Police Department who's experienced, yet he tends to get in trouble due to his reckless behavior and getting chewed out by his superior Inspector Douglas Todd, played by the late Gilbert R. Hill. He's reunited with his childhood friend Mikey Tandino, played by James Russo respectively, but that reunion is cut short when Mikey ends up murdered by two goons, one of them played by Jonathan Banks...
(A picture of Zack, played by Jonathan Banks is shown back to back with another photo of Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut from Better Call Saul)
Sean: (Narrating) ...Jonathan Banks with hair! Turns out that Mikey stole some German bearer bonds from these guys and Axel decides to take some vacation time, which is his cover to investigate his friend's murder after Inspector Todd refuses to allow him to investigate due to his close ties to Mikey. Axel heads down to Beverly Hills, where he meets with another friend from his childhood Jenny Summers, played by Lisa Eilbacher, who works at an art gallery owned by Victor Maitland, played by Steven Berkoff. Axel tries to question Maitland at his office about Mikey, who was working for Maitland as a security guard and here's how that meeting turned out...
(Cut to a clip where Axel is thrown out of a window by Maitland's bodyguards)
"Yeah, seems like your typical Beverly Hills greeting." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) He gets arrested and at the police station, Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil, played by Ronny Cox, hears about Axel starting trouble and calls his superior in Detroit, so he assigns Sergeant John Taggart, played by John Ashton, and Detective Billy Rosewood, played by Judge Reinhold, to keep an eye on Axel to make sure that he doesn't get into any trouble. It's an interesting fish out of water story, because you have some culture clash in the movie. You have a cocky rule-dodging cop from the mean, violent streets of Detroit to the posh, lavish lifestyle of Beverly Hills. Which makes it so funny.
"This is what I love about this movie. It is brimming with '80s goodness." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) You have car chases, an 80s music soundtrack, strip clubs, bad guys with uzis, 80s wardrobe. This represented the time period perfectly. Plus, the dialogue is pretty hilarious too and the comedy is top-notch. Hell, Eddie Murphy improvised some of his scenes in the movie.
Axel Foley (Played by Eddie Murphy): (To the hotel clerk) I was gonna call the article "Michael Jackson Is Sitting On Top of the World," but now I think I might as well just call it "Michael Jackson Can Sit On Top of the Word Just As Long As He Doesn't Sit in the Beverly Palm Hotel 'Cause There's No *beep* Allowed in There!"
Sean: (Narrating) Some of these moments are hilarious and my favorite would have to be Axel meeting Serge, played by Balki himself Bronson Pinchot. And I swear, Bronson Pinchot is using his Balki voice for the movie. Hell, I think this is the origin of the Balki voice.
Serge (Played by Bronson Pinchot): I see you look at this piece.
Axel Foley: Yeah, I was wondering how much something like this went for.
Serge: $130,000.
Axel Foley: Get the fuck out of here!
Serge: (Laughing) No, I cannot! It's serious because it's very important piece.
Axel Foley: Have you ever sold one of these?
Serge: (Proudly) Sell it yesterday to a collector.
Axel Foley: Get the fuck out of here!
Serge: No, I'm serious! I sell it myself!
(A clip from Perfect Strangers is shown)
Balki Bartokomous (Played by Bronson Pinchot): Well, of course not, don't be ridi-cool-us.
Sean: (Narrating) Hell, take a look at this scene where Axel is doing his "super cops" speech to Bogomil and watch Taggart's reaction. You could see that John Ashton is pinching his face hard and looking down in frustration. Actually, he is laughing his ass off. I laugh every time from just watching John Ashton laughing.
"And speaking of laughter, I get a kick from seeing a little cameo from Damon Wayans in the movie." Sean said as a picture of Damon Wayans as the Banana Man is shown.
Sean: (Narrating) Another thing I love about this movie is it's soundtrack. Harold Faltermeyer composed the music for the movie and he's the one who created the Axel F. theme that you hear throughout the movie. Not to mention, you have some great musical moments. You have Glenn Frey's "The Heat Is On" playing during the opening credits and we get shots of Detroit, you have the Pointer Sisters' "Neutron Dance" playing during the exciting truck chase and my personal favorite, Patti LaBelle's "Stir It Up" that plays during the montage of Axel arriving in Beverly Hills and during the end credits as well.
"The performances in the movie are pretty enjoyable as well." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) Axel Foley is the young wisecracking cop who's always getting into trouble, Taggart and Rosewood are the straightlaced detectives that always go by the book, Victor Maitland is the one bad guy that you would love to punch in the face.
"But there are a lot of things that I've learned from the movie until I was older." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) For example, when Axel and Jenny investigate the warehouse where they come across a crate filled with coffee grounds. But actually, it is used to pack drugs while covering their scent from police dogs. Yeah, not only that Axel is a troublemaking cop, he's a damn good clever cop too. This is what I love about this movie because Axel is an expert and he's showing the cops in Beverly Hills on how to catch a criminal. Heck, the action in this movie is pretty well done. I love the climax at the end, you have Axel, Rosewood and Taggart getting into a shootout with some of Maitland's men and you have Foley taking on Zack and going after Maitland, who's holding Jenny hostage until Bogomil joins the fun. Christ, this movie is so damn good.
"I know there's a lot of things that I could point out that makes this film so special." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) The amazing soundtrack, the comedy, the memorable funny moments and lines, the action scenes. It's all perfect. The movie's an instant classic the more I talk about it.
"And of course, with the film being a box office success, there's got to be a sequel to this one." Sean said.
(Cut to Beverly Hills Cop II)
Sean: (Narrating) That's right, three years later a sequel was made in the form of Beverly Hills Cop II. Released in theaters on May 20th, 1987, this film was directed by the late Tony Scott, who was hired by producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer due to his success with Top Gun. So after the movie was released...
"Man, talk about a film that everyone changed their minds about because when this first came out, it got mixed reviews from critics." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) I don't know anyone who liked this one. Maybe there's some people that like the second film while others didn't care for it. Yeah, it's what you would expect in a sequel that's repeating the same stuff over again which is coming off the heels from a movie that's a critical and box office success. The setup is this: a series of Alphabet Crimes is going on in Beverly Hills involving a series of high-end-store robberies with the monogrammed envelopes with an alphabetical sequence that the Alphabet Bandit leaves behind. Lt. Bogomil gets suspended by the new chief of police Harold Lutz, played by Allen Garfield, and on his way home, he ends up getting shot and seriously wounded by the one of the criminals named Karla Fry, played by Brigitte Nielsen. Foley finds out about Bogomil's shooting, so he flies down to Beverly Hills to help Taggart and Rosewood find the person who shot Bogomil and solve the Alphabet Crimes, which means that they have to do this without Chief Lutz finding out about it. Okay, it's a pretty interesting idea and I have to say that some of my favorite stuff would have to be the elaborate heist scenes. You see what kind of professionals that they're dealing with here. There's something about a "Here We Go Again" story by having the villains plan an elaborate robbery at the beginning of the film, it kind of reminds me of the jewerly heist from Grand Theft Auto V.
"But the things is this, the movie's comedy is a mix of both funny and not funny." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) A lot of people have issues with it being not as funny as the first film but that never bothered me. There were some jokes that I got a laugh from, but there weren't as many jokes as the first one, I'm thinking that they're trying to go for a bit of both action and comedy.
"I'm gonna sound blasphemous for saying this, but I think the action in this movie is done pretty well." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) I know that the first film had some good action scenes, but this movie's action scenes were way better. This is what you would expect in an 80s movie. You have elaborate heists, a comedic chase scene and a big shootout.
"There's only one thing that I love about this movie and it is the villains." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) Yes, I know that Victor Maitland is your typical 80s villain, but the villains are way better. You have Jurgen Prochnow playing the guy who's responsible for the whole Alphabet Crimes. You see him a couple of times in the movie. Hell, not to mention that you have him, Dean Stockwell and Paul Guilfoyle in the same movie together. Just wait until Air Force One.
"On that note, Eddie Murphy is still amazingly funny in this movie, even when he's trying his best to be funny with his jokes." Sean said.
Harold Lutz (Played by Allen Garfield): Who the hell are you?
Axel Foley: Uh, my name is Johnny Wish-Wishbone. Johnny Wishbone. And I am a psychic from the island of St. Croix. Yes, I am a psychic from the island of St. Croix. And I read in the St Croix that the Beverly Hills Police Department having trouble figuring out crimes.
Sean: (Narrating) Hell, this is the first movie that he wrote or co-wrote and you can see where the humor is coming from. He has to improvise lines just to be so hilarious and he delivers by giving the director wants. Even a funny as hell line like...
Axel Foley: If you like rap music so much, how come you ain't smiling?
Guard: I'm smiling.
Axel Foley: Smile. Smile real big.
Guard: (Smiles) I'm smiling real big.
Axel Foley: Let's do a rap together. (Raps) Yo, baby, yo, baby, yo.
Guard: (Rapping) Yo, baby, yo, baby, yo.
"I don't know, I find that pretty hilarious." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) Also, what did they do to Rosewood in this one? In the first film, he was a straightlaced Beverly Hills detective, and in this one they turn him into a gun nut. There's this joke in the movie where he loves guns and he has all these weapons that he's showing up with. They keep repeating that joke and there's no punchline to it.
"Yeah, this was some bad comedy." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) So yeah, these were my thought about this movie and I find this to be the underrated second part. What they should've done was have Axel in a different city instead of Beverly Hills. But still, the actors are giving it their all, it has some great action, it's got a decent laugh here and there and it's got some good idea.
"So with the second film finished, you might think that this is it for the franchise. Well..." Sean said.
(Clips from Beverly Hills Cop III is shown)
Sean: (Narrating) Just when you think that they weren't going to make another one, they did and it was released in 1994. Beverly Hills Cop III was directed by John Landis, who also directed Trading Places and Coming to America which also starred Eddie Murphy. Another change was the producers of the movie. Producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer had a falling out with Paramount Pictures over Days of Thunder, so instead of the film produced by Simpson and Bruckheimer, Paramount hired producers Mace Neufeld and Robert Rheme, who produced two of my favorite Jack Ryan films Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, to produce the film. And the sequel was written by Steven E. deSouza, who wrote and directed the Street Fighter movie...
(A clip from Street Fighter is shown)
M. Bison (Played by Raul Julia): OF COURSE!
"So when everybody saw this movie... it was a disappointment." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) Boy, talk about a huge letdown. Coming off the heels from two smash hit movies, this one I felt was the weakest of the franchise. The story is this: Axel returns to Beverly Hills to track down a gang of counterfeiters and the man who was responsible for the death of Inspector Todd and the investigation leads him to an amusent park known as Wonder World.
"Yeah, seems pretty ridiculous to have the third film take place at an amusement park." Sean chuckled.
Sean: (Narrating) Why an amusement park? Why not? I mean, out of all the places the third film could have Axel going to, they randomly pick an amusement park. I remember watching this movie when I was around 9 or 10 when I saw it on USA Network and watching it again, this the one that I didn't care for. Remember when I said that the comedy in the first film is pretty hilarious? Well here, the comedy is not that funny.
"I can see why this is the black sheep of the franchise." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) And let's not forget that Axel Foley is not the wisecracking cop that we all know and love from the first two films. In this one, he's more mature and he's no longer the wisecracking rookie cop. Yes, I know that there's a little scene where Axel pulls a Kanye West on the movie's villain during an awards ceremony. I kinda got a chuckle from that one. And since it's a John Landis movie, you gotta have cameos of famous directors like George Lucas, Arthur Hiller, John Singleton, Barbet Schroeder, Joe Dante and even special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, who's known for his work on Clash of the Titans. And let's not forget Alan Young as Uncle Dave Thornton, who you all remember him as the voice of Uncle Scrooge from Ducktales. You also have a new character named Detective Jon Flint played by Hector Elizondo, and he's the replacement for Taggart. Plus, I have to say this, the villains in this movie are pretty dumb. That's all I have to say is that they're pretty dumb.
"But I will agree, I do enjoy the return of Bronson Pinchot as Serge." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) Yeah, this was my favorite part of the movie and we see that he's in gun running. Also, you have that Annihilator weapon that Axel uses in the climax, it's only for a short time, but it was worth it. It does have a pretty cool scene with Axel saving some children in danger on a ride and I love the music, but the thing that threw me off was the distracting green screen effect.
"And like I said, people see this one as the weakest in the series." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) The jokes aren't funny, Eddie Murphy isn't using his comedic chops, also I hated the fact that they killed off Inspector Todd in the first five minutes of the movie. Yeah, way to have that character go out with dignity after he gets gunned down by the rapist from Thelma & Louise. And Axel harrassing the guy and we get one of my favorite lines from the movie.
Axel Foley: You know they don't give out Oscars in prison, right?
Ellis DeWald (Played by Timothy Carhart): Fuck you!
Sean: (Narrating) Hell, they even give Axel a love interest in the movie. We see a park employee named Janice Perkins, played by Theresa Randle, helping Foley during his investigation and I have to admit, I do love the chemistry between Axel and Janice. Plus, Rosewood plays a most important role in the movie as we see that he's promoted to...
Det. Sgt. Billy Rosewood (Played by Judge Reinhold): I'm DDO-JSIOC.
Axel Foley: The jay gee jojo see?
"Yeah, that's a mouthful to say." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) Let's not forget, Axel in an elephant costume. I think that's just plain ridiculous.
"And you want to know something? There's nothing beating the original." Sean said.
Sean: (Narrating) You can have a little fun watching these movies and even if the sequels have it's faults, I have a soft spot for them and I tend to get a chuckle from the sequels.
"Now, I know that everybody's takes are different. Which brings me to this question: what did you think of the movies?" Sean asked.
Sean: (Narrating) Do you like these films? Do you think this should've been a standalone flick? Did you grow up watching that movie? Which one is your favorite? Which one is your least favorite? Let me know in the comments and make sure you don't have a banana in your tailpipe.
"I'm Sean the Mayhem Critic, and I'll see you guys next time." Sean said.
Mayhem Critic Tagline- Yo, baby, yo, baby, yo.
And that is all for the newest chapter of The Mayhem Critic. I hope you all enjoyed my thoughts about the Beverly Hills Cop movies. I also want to know, what are your thoughts about these movies? Next time on The Mayhem Critic, which film should Sean the Mayhem Critic review next? Here are the choices.
1. The Untouchables: Sean reviews Brian DePalma's Academy Award winning gangster movie.
2. Snake Eyes: Sean takes a look at the bonkers thriller directed by Brian DePalma and filled with Nicolas Cage goodness.
3. Sudden Impact: Sean reviews the best sequel in the Dirty Harry franchise and one of his favorites.
Which one would you like to see reviewed for the next chapter? Feel free to leave a review, add this story to your favorites and follow it for future updates. I'll see you guys next time. Till next time, my fellow readers.