Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is a brash young Detroit cop. His childhood friend Mikey returns from LA having crossed the wrong people. Mikey is executed while out with Axel. Axel doesn't get the murder case. So instead he takes his vacation time in Beverly Hills to investigate. There he runs into cops who do things a little differently.

It's a simple formula of action and Eddie Murphy hijinx. Eddie Murphy makes jokes, do the action thing, and create havoc. Young Judge Reinhold, grisly John Ashton, and by-the-books Ronny Cox play the Beverly Hills cops. There is the clash of culture, and Murphy's hilarious laugh. This is a star vehicle for Eddie Murphy, and he drives it with style.

This was one of the biggest comedies of all time. Before this film, there were black comedians in movies that never reached their promise.

Eddie Murphy coming off 48 Hours and Trading Places hit the ball out of the park. He set the template for every black comedy actor to follow which is a bit of a curse in itself.

This is essentially a fish out of water film, with a pure 80s soundtrack, violence, action and a bundle of laughs. The bad guys are vicious and menacing, there is very little charm in Steven Berkoff and Jonathan Banks.

It is the Beverly Hills setting that gives Murphy's character full reign to contrast the police procedures in his native Detroit to that of the more sedate Los Angeles enclave of the rich and famous.

Great support from John Ashton, Judge Reinhold and Ronny Cox.

Back when "Beverly Hills Cop" came out in 1984, it was a HUGE sensation--HUGE. Although the film cost about $14,000,000 to make, it earned back almost $250,000,000...in the US alone! And, the soundtrack from the film was almost as big--with many of the songs getting enormous airtime. In fact, the soundtrack was a HUGE hit as well. And, not surprisingly, Eddie Murphy soon decided to call it quits on "Saturday Night Live". On top of that, everyone seemed to be talking about the film...I can clearly remember that. Oddly, however, I didn't get around to seeing the film until now! And, now that I've seen it, I enjoyed it but also feel that the film sure would have played better back in the day than it does today.

In this dramatic-comedy, Murphy plays Axel Foley--a freewheeling cop who seems to be the only one in the film who has a brain. He's smart and capable--and naturally the Detroit Police don't understand or appreciate him. One night, an old friend of Foley's shows up and after an evening partying, some assassins are waiting for them--killing the friend and sparing Foley. Clearly, Foley was not their target. Now, with the BAREST OF EVIDENCE, Foley is going on vacation to Beverly Hills to finish the investigation unofficially. However, once there, he finds the Beverly Hills Cops equally unappreciative of his talents and hassle him throughout most of the film. When the trail leads to a scum-bag named Maitland, the cops must decide whether to keep hassling Foley or jump into the fray with this out of control cop.

The plot itself wasn't all that interesting to me and seemed a bit more like a plot from a TV cop show. However, this is not why folks liked the film. What folks liked, and I appreciated, was Murphy's humor--which was very much appreciated in order to liven up the mediocre plot. Is all this nonsense great? Nah...but it is quite good and Murphy's charisma was a MAJOR plus. Too bad this incredibly talented guy who made this and "Dreamgirls" (for which he received an Oscar nomination) also ended up making "Norbit" and "The Adventures of Pluto Nash". Worth seeing, though you should be aware of the very crude language, violence and brief nudity.

By the way, and it's not a complaint, but HOW DID AXEL GET THAT GUN IN THE BACK OF HIS PANTS AT THE END OF THE FILM?! He was shot in his right shoulder (his shooting arm) and yet the gun is stuffed in the back of his pants---in a way that could only happen if he did it with his damaged arm. And, who sticks their gun back there anyway? They'll end up blowing their butt off!!