Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and A Family Affair – Movie Reviews
As someone who isn’t devoted to this franchise, this wasn’t really something I was really anticipating. And truthfully, I found this mediocre. Listen, I like Eddie Murphy and I’ve been really into his comeback in the last five years, but I just don’t think this is really all that good for him. He’s clearly not the same comedian he was in the 80s, he doesn’t have the frenetic energy anymore that made his characters in the Beverly Hills Cop movies and Coming to America so iconic. When he revisits these characters it’s almost as if he’s a whole new character even when the movie is trying to tell us, “no he’s the same guy, he hasn’t changed.”
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That’s why I’ve been more into him doing original characters in new movies like Dolemite is My Name or even You People. His talents are more equipped for films like that rather than legacy sequels. But as a legacy sequel, it’s fine. It treads all of the same beats you’d expect out of a Beverly Hills Cop film, but instead of girl trouble, he’s having relationship issues with his daughter. And that’s probably the most compelling part. Taylour Paige and Joseph Gordon Levitt bring a fun enough energy to the film, they did a good job trying to bring a sort of semi comedic semi serious performance to this world.
However, it’s the actual detective elements that fall flat for me. Kevin Bacon is cheesy in this film and it’s all a little too silly without leaning into the camp elements like in the third film. It tries to be fun without having any actual bits of humor that really land and instead feel like those new Bad Boys films that have really weird and conflicting tones. Don’t get me wrong, it’s got some fine action in there and some decent family drama, but if this wasn’t a sequel but rather a stand alone film that came out today on Netflix, no one would really be talking about it. It’s not bad, it just doesn’t really do anything super interesting.
‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ Rating – 2.5/5
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A young assistant to a Hollywood star becomes conflicted when her boss begins a romantic relationship with her mother. There were negative things about this movie that you can get hooked on while watching, but there is a half-decent rom-com story here led by some very talented actors. I laughed more than I would have expected at the beginning and the movie didn’t feel as corny as it could have been.
The stupidity of some scenes, especially with how out of touch with reality Chris was and Zara’s impulsive behavior could be, made this a light and fun watch. Including some shots at Hollywood life was a nice addition to add to this story. Although silly, the leads in this movie all have very unlikeable characteristics. I actually found Chris was more the protagonist at times while Zara was the more selfish unlikeable character throughout. It all works out at the end, but some watchers might just hate everyone along the way.
I realize that we see it in movies with older male actors with way too young actresses in films. But something about Efron and Kidman together felt really uncomfortable to watch. They lacked chemistry throughout and it felt like a match that made no sense at all. Their romantic scenes felt more cringey to watch than anything. It almost felt like the love scenes in Team America: World Police.
This movie is cheesy, not well-written, and pretty obvious, which is all not a surprise. However, there are some fun aspects and a nice story buried in this which was a nice surprise. There is star power to this light film and for as much as I thought Zara was an annoying character, I felt Joey King shined as much as she could. The love story felt uncomfortable and I have so many questions about the movie Efron’s character was filming. I did also feel like I was watching a Rocky movie with the piano score. With that said, this is a date night movie to laugh and make fun of. It is also hard to not stare at the Botox that fills the screen.
‘A Family Affair’ Rating – 3/5
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