Finally, the complete Beverly Hills Cop trilogy is on Blu-ray! Paramount has done an excellent job on this set, save for the lack of extras on the second and third films. Fans of this franchise will surely want to pick this up as soon as possible!
“The heat is on in this fast-paced collection of action-packed comedies starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, the street-smart cop from Detroit. Tracking down his best friend’s killer in Beverly Hills Cop, Axel smashes through the local barriers in a hilarious, high-speed pursuit of justice. In Beverly Hills Copy II, he’s deep undercover investigating a gang of international munitions smugglers. The third installment, Beverly Hills Cop III, finds Axel at the center of a roller coaster thrill ride at the wonderworld amusement park! Watch all three and get hooked for the whole ride!”
It’s been a tragedy that only the first Beverly Hills Cop film has been out on Blu-ray in the U.S. until now. This new set features all new remastered versions of the films and new bonus features, finally giving fans of the franchise what they’ve been waiting for, and couldn’t come at a better time during this resurgence of Eddie Murphy, embracing his roots, going back to SNL, revisiting the films that propelled him into stardom with sequels decades later.
Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop originally had Sylvester Stallone in the lead role as wise-cracking detective Axel Foley, but insisted on re-writing the script to make it more action-oriented. Fortunately for us, nobody liked that version and he was let go, making room for Eddie Murphy’s most successful roles in his career. As much as I like Stallone, we all dodged a bullet there, as there is absolutely no way the movie would have been as good as with Murphy in the helm, spawning two additional sequels, soon to be another.
The character of Axel Foley continues to be one of my favorites in comedy. His portrayal of a cop dedicated to doing the best possible job he can by utilizing questionable means only gets better as the series progresses. Some of the situations he makes up on the fly are hilarious and brilliant to get his way or access different areas or retrieve information. Foley’s eventual side-kicks, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggart (John Ashton) give great performances that balance the story out as by-the-book cops who eventually come around to Foley’s shenanigans. Even their boss, Lt. Bogomil, learns to loosen up after seeing the effectiveness of his methods.
Steven Berkoff and Jonathan Banks serve as perfectly good villains in the film, a little one dimensional and paint-by-numbers boss and henchman dynamic, but the overall story of how Foley’s friend was killed is still entertaining how he pieces it together. That’s the best part about each one of the films, even though it’s heavy on the comedy, it still provides an interesting detective story in which the audience is always guessing.
Video
Beverly Hills Cop is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1. This set offers a newly remastered film sourced from a new 4k remaster, and the picture quality doesn’t disappoint. Grain is kept at a manageable level, with color balances brighter and more consistent than previous releases. The picture is very detailed, making this one of the selling points for me for the set.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The audio track sounds great, with a nice balance between the surrounds and center channel. There are some nice action sequences that show off the robust track, but where you’ll really enjoy this track is the soundtrack, featuring one of the most well-known themes from the 80’s, something probably everyone has attempted on a keyboard once in their life.
Special Features
This set features some all-new features for the 35th anniversary, unfortunately this only pertains to the first film. These include:
- Deleted Scenes
- Behind the Scenes: 1984 Interviews
- BHC Mixtape ‘84
- Commentary by Director Martin Brest
- Beverly Hills Cop: The Phenomenon Begins
- A Glimpse Inside the Casting Process
- The Music of Beverly Hills Cop
- Location Map
Beverly Hills Cop II
Three years later, Axel Foley is at it again when his now good friend Lt. Bogomil (Ronny Cox) is shot while investigating The Alphabet Crimes, a series of robberies that have gone unsolved in Los Angeles. Foley disobeys a direct order and heads out to L.A. in order to help catch the people who shot his friend, and with the help of Rosewood and Taggart, get into the thick of things pretty quickly, yet again, unintentionally turning the streets of L.A. into a warzone.
The second film, directed by Tony Scott, ramps up both the violence, action and comedy with all the key players returning, including Axel Foley’s t-shirt which it seems he can’t go without wearing. What’s immediately apparent is that Foley is riding high on his success on his bust in L.A. and still testing the patience of Inspector Todd. What’s nice here is we get to see a lot more of Foley’s Detroit work before he goes off to assist the LAPD yet again. His relationship with Inspector Todd is hilarious, as is Paul Reiser’s part he plays in keeping Foley’s secret.
The detective story is a bit more engaging in the second one. Brigitte Nielsen does a good job for her role, but the villains here are still painfully underwritten. Dean Stockwell could have had a much bigger role, and Jürgen Prochnow as Maxwell Dent seemed to barely even be in the film. Rosewood’s new inclination for firepower and obsession over guns and explosions is a little silly, giving us a glimpse of what it would’ve been like with Stallone at the helm as he stares into a Cobra poster. Despite a lack of true character development to anyone, the film still remains a pure action/comedy and doesn’t really strive to be anything more.
Video
Beverly Hills Cop II is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1. This new transfer looks good for the first time on Blu-ray in the United States. The grain is consistent and kept at a manageable level, with colors appearing vibrant and bright, with a nicely detailed picture. I was pleasantly surprised with the work that Paramount did on this sequel and how nice it turned out.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. This track sounds exceptional, with a good balance between the surrounds and center channel, where dialogue is clear and consistent throughout the film. Action sequences will really demonstrate the capability of this track, and there are quite a few of them, especially in the third act. The soundtrack is also great on here, bringing back the well-known theme song that makes for a perfect accompaniment.
Special Features
Unfortunately, there are no extras located on this disc.
Beverly Hills Cop III
The third installment has Axel returning to the L.A. area in search of another killer who guns down Inspector Todd in the opening act of the film. The evidence he collects points to Wonder World, a Disney-type theme park for children where something sinister is going down.
This John Landis directed film is usually considered the weakest of the trilogy, but I still have a soft spot in my heart for the film. As the other films had very similar stories, the third takes a very different path in creating one of the most unique detective settings. The film creates an entire theme park complete with characters and rides, with Axel Foley’s methods fitting in perfectly, whether it’s walking through the tunnels underneath or stealing a costume and doing the Okey Shuffle.
One of the most noticeable things about the film is the absence of Taggart who has since retired. His replacement, John Flint (Hector Elizondo), another cop who wants to just retire on his pension and get a comfortable gig working in Wonder World. The character is too similar to John Ashton’s, and just seems lazy. That being said, the villains in the third film are definitely taken up a notch, with resident bad-guy actor Timothy Carhart playing Ellis DeWald, head of security of Wonder World who has somehow employed an entire security force of bad guys who don’t hesitate to murder and kill to ensure their organization’s success.
The detective story in this is about the same, with some interesting twists and turns, but still relies mainly on the comedy and action to take precedent over the story. Although the action sequences are mostly good, there are some strange ones, like Axel Foley jumping from the top of an attraction to save two children while the entire park watches. This super-hero like stunt just seemed out of place in the film. Hey, he does have his hero uniform on, the grey shirt which I’m convinced is still the same one from 10 years ago with the letters long faded, and his Detroit Lions jacket. Hopefully this wardrobe makes a reappearance in the fourth installment.
Oh, and I still have never figured out why George Lucas is in this.
Video
Beverly Hills Cop III is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1. This is by far the most detailed and clearest of the three films, mostly I’m sure due to the advancements in technology. The picture looks absolutely fantastic, with brilliant colors and brights, accentuating the detailed image in every sequence.
Audio
The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. As with the others, this track sounds great, with a nice balance between the surrounds and center channel. There are some heavy action sequences with lots of gunfire where you will really hear the track shine. Additionally, the soundtrack contains that same theme song, with an updated accompaniment that works really well.
Special Features
No special features included on this disc.
The Beverly Hills Cop 3 Movie Collection may not bring you a plethora of new extras and supplemental materials, but makes up for it by presenting an excellent remastered picture. With the trilogy finally available to own on Blu-ray in the U.S., picking this up is a no-brainer for fans of the series who I hope are like me and excited for Eddie Murphy’s resurgence.
