Quick Thoughts: Beverly Hills Cop II

If you follow me on social media, you know that I am in the middle of the There & Back Again movie scavenger hunt along with host Drew from the Reel Feels Podcast. My most recent watch in the scavenger hunt was entry #248 “A comedy sequel”. With that, here are some quick thoughts on Beverly Hills Cop II.

Title: Beverly Hills Cop II

Director: Tony Scott

Released: May 20, 1987

Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

Watched via: Streaming on Paramount+

IMDb synopsis: Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to help Taggart and Rosewood investigate Chief Bogomil’s near-fatal shooting and the series of “alphabet crimes” associated with it.

One of the “rules” of this scavenger hunt is that all selections be first time watches unless otherwise noted. As my luck would have it, I hadn’t seen any of the Beverly Hills Cop movies. I was able to get the first one in under entry #245 “A film featuring a current or former SNL member” and figured why not continue on since the sequel also fits into the scavenger hunt.

I found the original to be a perfect mix of action and comedy, really shining when allowing Eddie Murphy to “be” Eddie Murphy. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the sequel.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s still action. In fact, there’s enough action and explosions to pique Michael Bay’s interest. The issue is that more often than not the action here is used to fill time more so than advance the incredibly lean plot.

And it’s not that there isn’t any humor here either, there is. Except here Murphy over does the loud, fast-talking, wisecracking schtick that worked so well in the original. The humor also seems not only forced at times but mean spirited as well.

That’s not to say I didn’t have fun with Beverly Hills Cop II, because I did. Despite its flaws, you can’t deny the chemistry that Eddie Murphy (Foley), Judge Reinhold (Rosewood), and John Ashton (Taggart) have together. While not on the same level as its predecessor, this still works as a perfectly serviceable buddy cop weekend watch. Throw it on, turn off your brain, and just try to have fun for an hour and forty minutes.

What are your thoughts on Beverly Hills Cop II? How does it stack up against the original for you? Let me know in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

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Speaking of social media, as we get closer to the holidays, I will be taking a break. Next week’s post will be a trailer reaction and then I will be taking 2 weeks off. If you’re curious what I am watching in the meantime, you can stay up to date with everything that I am watching as I will still post those to social media.

Since New Year’s falls on a Sunday, I say we kick off 2023 by getting back into the Margot Robbie filmography watch through. Just a reminder that we won’t be going chronologically anymore. Instead, we’ll go by what’s available to stream. If you aren’t up to date on the watch through, you can start from the most recent installment or start from the beginning.