Beverly Hills Cop II & III

Unfortunately I've had internet issues all yesterday and today so I am getting this up in the rare opportunity that it's working:

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)

Runtime: 102 minutes

Directed by: Tony Scott

Starring: The usual trio, along with Brigitte Nielsen and Jurgen Prochnow

From: Paramount

Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)

Runtime: 104 minutes

Directed by: John Landis

Starring: There's no John Ashton, and Hector Elizondo's character was not made to be an acceptable substitute

From: Paramount

As I imagine happened to many others who have the same cable/phone/Internet provider as I do, it was out for most of the day yesterday. There's one of many reasons why I am glad there is plenty of physical media where I am to consume... along with some digital files, but nevermind about that. This movie I have as part of a cheap DVD set I purchased a few years ago. I revisited the first a few years ago and unfortunately, due to a death it is just now that I got around to checking out II again this afternoon. I found out Wednesday night that Allen Garfield has passed away; only a small amount of his work has been seen by me and as this fit a few needs-including seeing something that is more modern than all the old ancient movies as of late-this is what I went with, even if it wasn't the best spotlight of Garfield's talents.

The first movie I enjoy, more for the comedic antics and the chemistry between the leads than the in-depth story or creative plot by the bad guys. This was more of the same; sure, it is more slick and has better action due to the direction of Tony Scott yet the scheme of the Alphabet Crimes is not spectacular-although those action beats are very good-and I wish there would have been more of Jurgen Prochnow. Thankfully it is slick entertainment and it was a gas seeing Foley, Rosewood and Taggart bounce off of each other and the further schemes that Axel does to get ahead in the case, all due to his running his mouth and being full of bluster. Further high notes are a nice cast in general (of course, the statuesque Brigitte Nielsen always stands out) and a quality score from Harold Faltermeyer, along with the 80's-riffic soundtrack. While I prefer Bob Seger singing Old Time Rock & Roll or Against the Wind, at least Shakedown is a catchy tune.

There is full of 1980's excess and the plot meanders at points; to me, the random few minutes at the Playboy Mansion is the highlight there. As for Garfield, he is the Chief of Police and I recalled the character being one-note; much to my regret, it was even more stereotypical than I recalled. All that character (Lutz) amounts to is an idiot who is also an A-hole. No complaints about the performance, yet Garfield can do more. Late last night I revisited part of The Conversation, which I've discussed before and it's a great movie for many reasons, Allen's role being one of them. His character was sleazy in a used car salesman sort of way yet is also one of the best at his job and is able to convey that while being more trashy than the uber-serious Harry Caul.


Anyhow, even if it's more antagonistic than the first and in my eyes the original is funnier overall, this should satisfy those that liked the first. When I get around to the third entry... something tells me that a 2020 viewing won't suddenly make it any worthwhile with the benefit of hindsight and the passage of all that time. Thank goodness II is far better than III.

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Come See About Me!

I might as well get this movie out of the way; viewing it hours after I revisited II seemed to be a logical move. I don't think I had viewed III in a quarter century and my memories of it were not positive. With 2020 eyes, I can state... this is still a pretty bad motion picture that was an insult to the Axel Foley character.

At least the movie stated right away that this would be an unworthy successor; instead of exciting opening credits that included an upbeat tune indicative of the era, this did not even have any opening credits and instead we are greeted by... schlub mechanics at a chop shop singing & dancing along to Come See About Me, by Diana Ross & The Supremes?! That is one of the many great songs from Motown Records but talk about cringe. There is also a car chase involving a Dodge Stealth-remember those?-and apparently that is the perfect bulletproof vehicle as it can take dozens of bullets from a MAC-10-including to the exposed engine-and keep on driving.

The story is more of the same: once again Foley has to make a sojourn to Southern California for the purpose of avenging a friend. In this case... he's now friendly with the gruff Inspector Todd? Todd was an understandably perturbed superior who got mad at Axel's outrageous ways. John Ashton did not even bother to show up for this entry, which ruined the overall chemistry among the leads and Hector Elizondo was not allowed to do much as the Taggart substitute. Then again, even Foley was incredibly dull and tired; where's him succeeding due to his brash ways... such as entering any establishment or staying at a mansion under construction due to his bluster and confidence in the BS he is spewing? None of that is here. I know that Murphy stated, “Oh, Axel has grown up so he's changed.” but why did he think that people would prefer a boring Foley?

John Landis did not seem like the right director for this, for a multitude of reasons. The plot is a dull affair involving a theme park that was like a cross between Disneyland and a Six Flags establishment, along with a guy that might as well be known as Not Walt Disney. Except for a few moments, there were not that many laughs, lame action scenes, predictable plot twists, and this was a waste of time overall. It seems as if for the past 25 years, there has been talks of a Beverly Hills Cop IV as an apology for how bad this turned out. Who knows if it'll officially happen, and if it'll even be any good. At least the first two movies are fun slices of 80's action/comedies.