Why Eddie Murphy hated the “garbage” ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ sequels
When it comes to American comedy legends, they don’t come bigger in the game than the hero that is Eddie Murphy. Throughout his excellent career, Murphy has split the sides of his audience again and again, from his close-to-the-bone stand-up routines to classic movies like Trading Places, The Nutty Professor and Dr. Doolittle.
Perhaps the most iconic of Murphy’s comedy films, though, is 1984 buddy cop action Beverly Hills Cop, in which he plays Alex Foley, a street-wise Detroit policeman, who sets out for Beverly Hills in Los Angeles to investigate the murder of his best friend. The film was well-received and was even nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Best Original Screenplay’.
However, Murphy was less than impressed with the sequel movies that followed his beloved comedy. Beverly Hills Cop 2 arrived in 1987 and saw Axel Foley reunite with Billy Rosewood and John Taggart, while the third film, released in 1994, saw his Detroit cop take part in an investigation in an amusement park.
Murphy admitted that of all the films in the franchise, the second was arguably the most successful, although he claimed that it did not possess the same level of humour as the original. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he said, “Beverly Hills Cop 2 was probably the most successful mediocre picture in history. Cop 2 was basically a rehash of Cop 1, but it wasn’t as spontaneous and funny.“
In another interview with Playboy, Murphy further discussed the sequel movies, particularly Beverly Hills Cop 3, around the time the reboot fourth film was announced. “Before it happens, they’ve got to get that script right,” he said. “That movie has to be right. The third Beverly Hills Cop was garbage. Those movies, when I travel overseas, people say, ‘Hey, Beverly Hills Cop! Axel Foley!'”
“They call me that shit,” the actor added. “All the movies I’ve done, and they call me that. If we do that movie, it has to be right. Not just thrown together to get a big check. I don’t need any more of those.” Evidently, Murphy feels that Beverly Hills Cop 2 and 3 were nothing but money makers, and it annoyed the actor that people abroad only recognised him for one of his worst efforts.
Murphy is hoping that the next film in the franchise can learn from the mistakes of the sequel movies and deliver genuinely unique and inventive moments of comedy that aren’t merely derivative from the 1984 original. Whether that can happen remains to be seen, but hopefully, the lessons can be learned.
