LOS ANGELES: It took 30 years for the fourth installment of the iconic “Beverly Hills Cop” series to return to the screen and now the latest film has hit Netflix with a nostalgia-tinged bang.
Eddie Murphy returns in "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" as Axel Foley. Joining him are familiar faces and new talent — and some of the cast and crew sat down to talk more about the film that sees Axel Foley return to Beverly Hills after his daughter's life is threatened. The high octane, joke-filled film sees our lead star work with old pals John Taggart and Billy Rosewood to uncover a conspiracy.
“It's been a few years since I've seen Eddie because all three of us live in different parts of the country … but we developed a good friendship in the earlier ones. And friendships don't die,” John Ashton, who plays now-police chief John Taggart, said.
Meanwhile, US actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt approached the project from a different position, with "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" marking his first time on the set of the franchise. He commented on working with Murphy on the fan-loved series.
“One of the things that I think is often underappreciated about Eddie is even though he's so funny, he's also a very honest and real actor,” Gordon-Levitt said.
It’s a quality that the lead star made full use of in the film, with emotional moments focusing on Axel Foley’s tense relationship with his estranged daughter, Jane, played by Taylour Paige.
But there is also, predictably, a healthy dose of action and this installment trades heavy CGI for action set pieces, notably in a gripping helicopter sequence that reintroduces authentic danger to the franchise.
“That helicopter was being flown by this stunt pilot who really did all that. He dropped the helicopter off the building, came that close to the street, barely missed the bus. That was all real and they just photographed it,” Gordon-Levitt explained.
“To be trusted with the keys to such an iconic franchise like this and get (franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer) to give me that trust was really humbling. Of course I felt a lot of pressure, but I just tried to be as prepared as possible,” Australian director Mark Molloy, who made his feature film debut with this movie, added.
