Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)

Thanks for the memories!

Admirable film.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Sequels rarely meet or exceed their predecessors, but I must admit this one runs just about par for the course. To start with, a solid cast of bad guys/girls lends to the antagonistic nature of the film. The evildoers rely on a sophisticated and heavy dose of violence to ransack the southern California area, which lends a Thomas Crown aspect to the plot.Slide over to the protagonist side and you get a familiar treatment of characters, who deliver solid police work wrapped around the antics of the ever-popular streetwise Detroit cop. The inclusion of resistance from department management creates an additional level of odds to circumvent and overcome. Toss in a visit into the world of Playboy and there is enough of a cinematic blend of beauty and violence to satisfy the entire audience. The pumping soundtrack is a great enhancement to the flow of the story and once again, the relationship between Todd and Foley is as entertaining as it gets. Sit down, grab your popcorn, and prepare to enjoy a fast-paced return trip through the streets of Beverly Hills, with a little Detroit added in for good measure.

After 1982's "48 Hrs." made him a movie star and 1984's "Beverly Hills Cop" made him a superstar, it was disheartening then to see Eddie Murphy make the safe decision to star in sequels to both films instead charting higher ground. Still, Murphy's return to his "Beverly Hills Cop" role of streetwise Axel Foley from Detroit--as well as his reunion with his likable "Cop" co-stars--seemed to make a lot of moviegoers happy, even if Tony Scott's 'chic' direction turns the whole overproduced thing into a dislocated "Miami Vice" rerun with profane humor. A seemingly unstoppable terrorist ring in Beverly Hills, led by a statuesque platinum blonde female, has left the police captain shot up and on life support and his lead detective and sergeant busted down to traffic duty; feeling loyal to the friends he made on the force when he infiltrated Beverly Hills in 1984, Foley volunteers his services. Perhaps as an incentive to get Murphy on-board, the star was given a co-credit for originating the story, though there isn't much of one. Duty-bound Foley cons his way passed secretaries and security guards--he even tries to b.s. Hugh Hefner!--but these posh hot spots he stakes out seem chosen merely for their photogenic qualities (the plot being negligible). However minor the first film was, it did have a fresh, squirrelly charm that is missing this time. Self-enamored, self-amused Murphy does work hard, though even the camaraderie between he and the supporting players feels rote. ** from ****

Beverly Hills Cop is my favorite comedy of all time, and its reputation as a classic of 1980s cinema is well earned. Its two sequels, however, are not held in as in high regard. The two follow-ups are often lumped together as lackluster efforts, which isn't fair since while Beverly Hills Cop II isn't a comedic masterpiece like the first one, it's the definitely the much stronger sequel. Having just watched the film for the first time in years, I found it to be a whole lot better than I remember. In fact, I'd say it's a quite an underrated sequel.The best decision made by director Tony Scott and the creative team behind Beverly Hills Cop II was to bring back almost all the actors from the first movie. Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, Gilbert Hill, and Paul Reiser are just as great here as they were in the original. Unlike with most sequels, nobody on screen appears to be phoning in a performance for a paycheck. The main trio of Murphy, Reinhold, and Ashton are together for a good 80% of the film, and are absolutely perfect together. The three actors share amazing chemistry as a group, making every scene with them a blast to watch. The fact that their friendship feels real is what elevates Beverly Hills Cop II from ever feeling like just an unnecessary sequel. Beverly Hills Cop II has some of the same story beats as Beverly Hills Cop, but it never comes across as a lazy retread. The best parts of Beverly Hills Cop II are the noticeable differences from the first film. Rather than having to solve the murder of a friend, Axel must discover who shot Bogomil (Cox). Tony Scott gets a bit of suspense out of whether Bogomil will live or die, and there's a few surprisingly touching scenes between Axel and Bogomil's daughter. These scenes could have felt out of place in what is mostly a comedy, but they work quite well. What really separates Beverly Hills Cop II from the first one, as well as from most action movies in general, is that the main villain is a very intimidating woman, Karla Fry (Bridgitte Nielsen). There has been some criticism that the treatment of her character is misogynistic, though I've never seen much to support that argument. She may not be the most three-dimensional character every written, but the fact that we don't learn all that much about her makes her even more menacing. One of the best aspects to the story is that there is a hierarchy of villains. In addition to Karla, there's also the memorable Maxwell Dent (Jurgen Prochnow). The scene where Foley, Rosewood, and Taggart track down Max at the Playboy Mansion is the film's highlight, and one of the funniest scenes in any movie ever. Almost every single line in the scene is hilarious, Chris Rock gets a cool little cameo, and the scene somehow manages to be feel completely relevant to the plot. However, the Playboy Mansion scene also draws attention to the one major flaw of Beverly Hills Cop II that keeps it from being a truly great movie: the noticeably rough editing. Martin Brest has been quoted as saying that Beverly Hills Cop was saved in the editing room, and that he was amazed at how well everything cut together. Beverly Hills Cop II should have been looked at more closely in the editing room, because it is far from seamless. Several scenes seem to end randomly without any much sense of transition or rhythm. In some instances, the editing is just downright awkward. The best example of this is in the Playboy Mansion scene. Once Foley, Rosewood, and Taggart have left the mansion and the narrative of the scene is effectively over, the camera lingers on a random party-goer dancing enthusiastically to some music. The guy's dance moves are mildly amusing, but there is no real reason for the shot to be in the movie, and it feels extremely disconnected from the rest of the scene. Beverly Hills Cop II is filled with moments in which scenes don't cut at a logical endpoint. There are three credited editors, no doubt the result of a rushed post-production schedule to get the movie out by a certain release date. None of the bad editing kills my overall enjoyment of the film, though it's impossible not to be distracted by its shoddiness at times.With the exception of the poor editing, it's clear there was actually effort and care put into Beverly Hills Cop II, something that can't be said for sequels made in today's era. Just like with the original Beverly Hills Cop, this sequel has tremendous replay value. Though it might not be as well put together as its predecessor, Beverly Hills Cop II still works way, way better than 95% of sequels to classic comedies. 8/10

Beverly Hills Cop II is a terrific,hilarious,Action-packed sequel that is filled with great direction,an great performance from Eddie Murphy and a wonderful cast,wonderful laughs,thrilling Action and a memorable score and soundtrack. And while Beverly Hills Cop II isn't a good as the original,it's an entertaining and worthy follow up.Beverly Hills Cop II once again finds wisecracking Detroit Cop Axel Foley(Eddie Murphy)back in Beverly Hills when his friend Andrew Bogomil(Ronny Cox)has been gunned down by an Alphabet bandit,a person who's been stealing money and jewelry. Back in Beverly Hills,Axel teams up once again with his buddies Billy Rosewood(Judge Reinhold)and John Taggart(John Ashton)to solve the case with more laughs and Action.After the huge and popular Box Office success of the classic Beverly Hills Cop in 1984,it seemed inevitable that a sequel was going to be made and three years later came the release of Beverly Hills Cop II,a fun and entertaining sequel that got mixed reviews from critics at the time and has divided Beverly Hills Cop fans for years where some people like it and others don't but the sequel was such a huge Box Office hit for Eddie Murphy making 153 million dollars and was one of the biggest hits of 1987 and is a sequel that mixes great laughs with explosive Action giving viewers a fun time for 102 minutes. What I like about Beverly Hills Cop II is that the movie basically takes what worked in the first film and rolls with it here giving viewers a movie that maybe just like the original but also giving viewers a good time that never slows down. Like the first Beverly Hills Cop this movie has a nice balance of Comedy and Action. The Comedy and laughs in BHC2 are funny,hilarious and will have you roaring with laughter whether it's scenes with Axel Foley with his wisecracks and Hijinks or the great scenes with Axel,Rosewood and Taggart working together and while the Comedic scenes are not as funny or iconic as the original they are still memorable and done with the same fun tone of the first one. If there is one thing that is bigger in this film it's the amazing and thrilling Action scenes and the Action in BHC2 is loud and intense and done in a fiery and fast pace style that was a trademark of director Tony Scott. One of the main criticisms on BHC2 is that the film focused more on Action than Comedy and I can say yes and no to that. Yes because the style of BHC2 is more like an Action movie with gunfights,explosions and chase sequences that were like the other Action movies of the 1980s and no because in certain scenes there is a mixture of intense Action and laughs to make sure that the movie isn't too serious. Of all of the BHC films the second film is probably the most stylish and visually stunning film in the series and that is thanks to not only Tony Scott's direction but also Jeffrey L. Kimball's photography because the city of Beverly Hills and even in Detroit there use of the different colors whether it's orange or blue either in the daytime or at night. The look of BHC2 captures the late 1980s very well. The character Axel Foley is hilarious in this on once again because like in the original Axel uses his smarts,wisecracks and wits to get what he wants and making fools out of any stranger whether he's pretending to be somebody else or stealing a house(you'll see). While Axel is still a Detroit Cop and a fish out of water,when he's in Beverly Hills the town is his playground and he's having fun with laughs and a smile the only way Axel Foley does. The ending of Beverly Hills Cop is great,memorable and is filled with laughs and Action that will satisfy viewers and leave them with a smile. A fantastic ending.The cast is wonderful. Eddie Murphy is excellent and hilarious once again as Axel Foley,with Murphy being funny and charismatic. Judge Reinhold and John Ashton are terrific and funny once again as Billy Rosewood and John Taggart,Axel's friends and Beverly Hills Cops. Jurgen Prochnow is wonderful as villain Maxwell Dent,the man planning the Alphabet jobs. Ronny Cox is great once again as Andrew Bogomil,Billy and Taggart Captain. Bridget Nielsen is sexy and memorable as Karla,Dent's girlfriend. Allen Garfield is fantastic as Chief Lutz,a verbally abusive Police chief. Dean Stockwell is outstanding as Chip Cain,Maxwell's right hand man. Paul Reiser and Gill Hill are hilarious once again as Jeffrey Friedman and Inspector Todd,Detroit Cops. Robert Ridgely(Mayor Egan),Gilbert Gottfried(Sidney Bernstein),Tom Bower(Russ Fielding),Paul Guilfoyle(Nikos Thomopolis),Frank J. Pesce(Carlotta),Robert Pastorelli(Vinnie),Alice Adair(Jan Bogomil)and Brian O'Conner(Biddle)give good performances as well. Also,lookout for cameos by Hugh Hefner(Himself)and Chris Rock(Parking Vallet).The direction by Tony Scott is amazing and stylish,with Scott bringing a beautiful and stunning look to the film with good angles and camera movements. Great direction,Scott.The score by Harold Faltermeyer is outstanding and memorable once again and matches the film's tone. The soundtrack also includes songs by Bob Seger(Shakedown),George Michael(I Want Your Sex),James Ingram(Better Way),The Pointer Sisters(Be There),Keta Bell and Corey Hart(Hold On)and more. Terrific soundtrack.In final word,if you love Eddie Murphy,Tony Scott,Action-Comedies or the first Beverly Hills Cop,I highly suggest you see Beverly Hills Cop 2,a terrific and hilarious Action-packed sequel that is a worthy follow-up to the the original. Highly Recommended. 9.5/10.