Fans have been left even more thrilled by Eddie Murphy’s latest film after spotting a very subtle dig to one of his most controversial films in the script.
The 63-year-old dusted off his police badge and returned as Axel Foley for the fourth movie in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise.
It serves as a follow-up to the much-maligned Beverly Hills Cop III, which was released in 1994 to a sea of negative reviews – it currently has a critics score of just 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a 35% audience mark.
Movie bosses couldn’t resist referring to the flop in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference, joking that it wasn’t Axel’s ‘finest hour’.
Early on in the flick, he returned to Beverly Hills PD in handcuffs, with fellow officer Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) taking a minute to peruse his lengthy rap sheet.
‘This is a lot,’ he said. ‘Disturbing the peace, various shootouts, evading the police.
‘This is from ‘84, then there’s one from ‘87… and then ‘94. Not your finest hour…’
Viewers couldn’t get enough of the reference and flocked to Twitter to unpack the scene.
Film_Lust cheered: ‘Nice little dig at Beverly Hills Cop 3. #AxelF.’
Precisecutz agreed: ‘Things like this is what made the movie good!!’
‘I love the subtle dig regarding Beverly Hills cop 3 was. “And again in 94. Not your finest hour”,’ Dexter Morgan VI penned.
As Cherchez La Suge added: ‘”And then there’s 94, not your finest hour.” DIED laughing. Beverly Hills Cop 3 is canon, but they did not miss taking a shot at it. #AxelF.’
The 1994 sequel saw Axel return to the area after his beloved Detroit boss, Inspector Douglas Todd (Gil Hill) died, and learned that the loss had ties to a Beverly Hills amusement park.
Eddie hasn’t minced his words about the blockbuster in the past, branding it ‘garbage’ in a 2015 chat with Playboy.
Thankfully, the newest installment has already trounced Beverly Hills Cop III, with an audience score of 81%, compared to a 67% critics rating.
Who is in the cast?
You couldn’t have a Beverly Hills Cop movie without Eddie, who came back with a bang and caused chaos with his old pals – Judge Reinhold also returned as Billy Rosewood and John Ashton as Chief John Taggart.
Taylour Page joined the fold as Axel’s daughter, Jane Saunders, Joseph took on the role of Detective Bobby and Kevin Bacon popped up to play Captain Cade Grant.
Paul Reiser plays Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman while Bronson Pinchot rounds out the cast as Serge.
When does Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F come out?
The fourth film in the franchise was released on Netflix on July 3, meaning it’s available to stream right now – and it’s like Axel Foley never left.
The official synopsis reads: ‘Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is back on the beat in Beverly Hills.
‘After his daughter’s life is threatened, she (Taylour Paige) and Foley team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy.’
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is available to stream on Netflix now.
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