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Did Eddie Murphy really need to make "Beverly Hills Cop III" in 1994? It depends on how you view his 1992 and just how down you think he was before he made his purported comeback that year with "Boomerang." The Reginald Hudlin-directed romantic comedy returned Murphy to critical favor, but, commercially, its $70 million domestic gross was less than the $80 million take of "Another 48 Hrs.," which was the disappointment that hastened the need for Murphy's return-to-form (even though it and "Boomerang" both received A- Cinemascores). Murphy's other 1992 effort, "The Distinguished Gentleman," was a legit misstep dogged by poor reviews and a paltry $47 million domestic gross.

Aside from "The Distinguished Gentleman", Murphy seemed to be in good performance shape coming off "Boomerang" -- he just wasn't the launching pad for $100 million-grossing blockbusters that he'd been in the 1980s. Obviously, Murphy and his then home studio, Paramount, were eager to catch fire again,...

Eddie Murphy reunites with familiar faces in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, adding Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, and Kevin Bacon to the cast. Not all original characters return, with some killed off or retired, such as Inspector Todd and Lt. Bogomil. Some actors like Lisa Eilbacher and Theresa Randle, who played significant roles in previous films, do not return for Axel F.

Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F unites the comedy legend with both returning and new characters for yet another case in California. All 4 Beverly Hills Cop movies have now featured several familiar faces, and while Murphy is the center of this cinematic universe, it's his relationships with the others that elevates things. Foley bounces off others, clashes with them, criticizes them, and without them, he wouldn't have the same energy.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F's cast has added Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, and Kevin Bacon in prominent roles,...

This article contains spoilers for "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F."

Actors almost never become movie stars overnight. Even the born-to-dazzle likes of Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, and Paul Newman needed a bit of runway to soar to that rarified Hollywood air. Eddie Murphy, however, needed just one moment in his first movie to become a generational showbiz phenomenon.

That moment arrived 38 minutes into Walter Hill's 1982 action-comedy hit "48 Hrs.," when Murphy's furloughed criminal Reggie Hammond convinces Nick Nolte's Detective Jack Cates to let him shakedown a redneck bar's racist patrons for information on the whereabouts of a cop killer. Reggie, tired of Cates insistence that it takes "bullls*** and experience" to successfully interrogate suspects, invites the officer to "Come on in and experience some of my bulls***." Armed with nothing but Cates' shield and his mouth, Reggie bullies cows a saloon full of hostile white folks into terrified silence.

Eddie Murphy waited for the right script to evolve Axel Foley's character in Beverly Hills Cop 4, adding personal depth and a unique story. The film explores Axel's reconciliation with his estranged daughter, providing a new angle to his return to Beverly Hills after thirty years. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F aims to expand on previous installments by giving Axel a deeply personal reason to come back, rather than a generic mission.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F star Eddie Murphy explains why the wait for the film took so long. Set to stream on Netflix in early July, Beverly Hills Cop 4 releases thirty years after the previous movie came out, and will see Murphy reprise his role as Axel Foley after an extensive development period. Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot will also reprise their respective roles as Billy Rosewood, John Taggart, Jeffrey Freidman, and Serge.

The latest entry into the Bad Boys film franchise titled Ride or Die is finally out and seems to be rejuvenating the 2024 summer box office single-handedly. Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Bad Boys: Ride or Die becomes the fourth film in a franchise started by Michael Bay. Stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return to reprise their iconic roles of Detective Mike Lowery and Detective Marcus Miles Burnett, and once again, both of their characters get into some tricky situations, and the only way to get out is some cool action sequences and hilarious comedic bits. So, if you love the Bad Boys franchise and love the latest film, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, here are some similar films you could watch next.

Beverly Hills Cop Credit – Paramount Pictures

Beverly Hills Cop is an action comedy film directed by Martin Brest with a screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr....

Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley adventures are coming to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, as Beverly Hills Cop III gets announced for the format.

2024 is the year that the long-mooted fourth film in the Beverly Hills Cop series finally happens, with Netflix bringing Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F to our screens later this year.

It’s the first time that Eddie Murphy has taken on the lead role since 1994’s ill-fated Beverly Hills Cop III, a film that brought the saga to a shuddering stop when it stumbled at the box office. But still: there’s a chance to reassess that third film now, as Paramount is releasing it on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format.

In fact, it’s doing two things. Beverly Hills Cop III will be coming to 4K disc on February 19th in the UK. And it’s accompanying that with a boxset that features Beverly Hills Cop...

Once upon a time, Hollywood studios made original movies. Lots of them. Granted, "original" is a relative term when we're talking about this industry. Studios have always hedged their bets by relying on popular genres or recycling tried-and-true formulas. When a film went into production, moguls and executives were hoping for a healthy return on their investment, while stars generally tried their damnedest not to alienate their fans while avoiding the perils of typecasting. Once the film wrapped, it was on to the next one — and the next one was rarely a sequel.

This business model changed drastically in the 1970s when films like "The Godfather," "The Exorcist" and "Love Story" became wildly profitable cultural phenomena. When the studios realized people were lining up to see these movies again and again like they were amusement park rides, they reasoned that the safest course of action would be to continue the...

When we last hung out with Eddie Murphy's Axel Foley, he was wreaking havoc at a fictional Southern California amusement park (clearly based on Disneyland) while trying to apprehend the facility's chief of security, who murdered Foley's ill-tempered mentor, Inspector Todd (Gil Hill). If you're saying, "Uh, no, he was chasing the Eurotrash criminals who shot up his buddy Chief Bogomil (Ronny Cox)," you are one of the vast majority of moviegoers who skipped John Landis' "Beverly Hills Cop III."

Released over Memorial Day weekend in 1994, Murphy's third go-round as the fast-talking Detroit detective who keeps making unwelcome visits to Los Angeles to avenge dead or badly wounded friends arrived seven years after the last installment, and audiences had moved on. Whereas the first two movies grossed $316 million and $300 million worldwide (the bulk of that money being made in the U.S.), "Beverly Hills Cop III" only...

Eddie Murphy turned 61 years old this year, which makes him roughly the same age John Wayne was when he played the out-to-pasture codger Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit." That film, and Wayne's subsequent Westerns, had an elegiac, one-last-ride feeling to them. Yes, the Duke's cancer was in remission at this point, but he still looked washed. When he finally succumbed to the disease on the eve of the 1980s, the book quietly closed on an outmoded era of Hollywood filmmaking. It was time. Of all the golden age stars, Wayne was uniquely unsuited to the coked-up, strip-club glitz pioneered by producing teams like Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer and Jon Peters/Peter Guber.

Of all the big-screen '80s superstars, no one was more at home in this olio of excess than Eddie Murphy. His fast-talking, nimble-minded riffing was perfectly attuned to the hurtling energy of the decade's blockbuster action-comedies. Murphy...

Sad news for Beverly Hills Cop fans today. One of the franchise's biggest scene stealers has died. Gilbert R. Hill, best known as the salty-tongued police Inspector Douglas Todd, passed away at the age of 84 this past Monday. Cause of death is unknown at this time.

Gil R. Hill is a former Detroit city councilman and one-time mayoral candidate who made appearances in all three previous Beverly Hills Cop movies. He was first introduced to audiences in the original 1984 classic, and return for the 1987 sequel Beverly Hills Cop 2 and 1994's Beverly Hills Cop 3. The politician turned actor died Monday afternoon at Detroit's Sinai Grace Hospital. Spokeswoman Bree Glenn had this to say about the man's passing.

"Gil had been recently hospitalized and was on the road to recovery. We are relieved that his passing was peaceful and painless."

Gil R. Hill started his career with the Detroit Police Department, where...

Gil Hill, a real-life police detective who starred in all three Beverly Hills Cop films as Inspector Douglas Todd, Eddie Murphy's character's boss, died at age 84 on Monday. Hill was admitted to Dmc Sinai-Grace Hospital in northwest Detroit on Feb. 17 with pneumonia, Deadline Detroit reports. He was listed in critical condition and died at the hospital around 4:40 p.m. on Monday, a friend tells the media outlet. Hill had previously undergone treatment for a lung condition. "We are relieved that his passing was peaceful and painless," a family member told Deadline Detroit. "We ask that you pray for...

Gil Hill, a real-life police detective who starred in all three Beverly Hills Cop films as Inspector Douglas Todd, Eddie Murphy's character's boss, died at age 84 on Monday. Hill was admitted to Dmc Sinai-Grace Hospital in northwest Detroit on Feb. 17 with pneumonia, Deadline Detroit reports. He was listed in critical condition and died at the hospital around 4:40 p.m. on Monday, a friend tells the media outlet. Hill had previously undergone treatment for a lung condition. "We are relieved that his passing was peaceful and painless," a family member told Deadline Detroit. "We ask that you pray for...

Gil Hill, a Former Detroit homicide inspector and later Detroit City Council President who occasionally acted, playing Eddie Murphy’s tough talking boss in the Beverly Hill Cop franchise died today after contracting pneumonia. He was 84. Hill had been reportedly battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for some time prior to his final illness. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Hill served in the U.S. Air Force beginning in 1950 and was stationed at Detroit’s…...

Gil Hill, the real-life Detroit policeman who portrayed Eddie Murphy’s no-nonsense boss in the three Beverly Hills Cop films, has died. He was 84. Hill, who had battled respiratory problems, died Feb. 17 at Dmc Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit, a local website reported. “We are relieved that his passing was peaceful and painless,” his family said in a statement. Hill played frustrated police Inspector Douglas Todd, who frequently dressed down the unorthodox — yet wildly successful — Detective Axel Foley (Murphy), in the box-office smash hit Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and its 1987 and 1994 sequels. {

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CBS confirms that a "Beverly Hills Cop" spin-off TV pilot has been greenlit by Sony Pictures Television, from "The Shield" creator Shawn Ryan and executive producer Eddie Murphy.

Murphy will also reprise his role as fast-talking 'Axel Foley' in the potential series as a veteran streetwise Detroit cop, who now mentors his police officer son.

"Axel is the chief of police now in Detroit," Murphy said.

Ryan will write the pilot, planned as an hour police procedural, blending action and comedy.

The original "Beverly Hills Cop' released in 1984, was directed by Martin Brest, from a story and screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., starring Murphy, Lisa Eilbacher, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Ronny Cox :

"...'Axel Foley' (Murphy) is a young, talented, but reckless Detroit police detective who had previously been a delinquent. His latest act of attempting to catch crooks through an unauthorized cigarette smuggling sting operation goes sour...

Reading up on the history of Beverly Hills Cop, it never should have worked. By the time the movie went into production, there were about 8 billion different versions of the script. The final product was basically scotch-taped together from those different versions and whatever else didn't work was improvised by the cast.

Way back when, the story looked like a star vehicle for Al Pacino or James Caan in what would have been a much more serious take on the story. Then Mickey Rourke was attached. Then Rourke walked. Sylvestor Stallone came on board for an even bloodier version that never came to fruition because it would have been too expensive (reportedly Stallone took many of that version's ideas and made Cobra. I'm assuming it was most of the really bad ideas). So what did the studio do with what was once a serious tale of revenge? They made it a comedy.