Directed by: Tony Scott
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Brigitte Nielsen, Jurgen Prochnow, Dean Stockwell, Allen Garfield, Ronny Cox, Gilbert Gottfried
Beverly Hills Cop isn't among the elite Eddie Murphy movies, but it worked as an amusing action comedy. Cop II recycles the same formula (Detroit cop works undercover in Beverly Hills to solve a crime and gain revenge), but relies more on the action sequences than the comic possibilities of a black Detroit cop cutting through the wealthy, snobby Beverly Hills denizens. This may be a blessing in disguise, because just like in the first film, Murphy's Axel Foley relies on subterfuge and pretense to gain access to places where he isn't permitted. However, in Cop II, these sequences are overlong and cringeworthy, not funny. Murphy either shouts at the unsuspecting folks he has to outwit in order to enter a gun club, nightclub, etc., or he carries on an inane role play which far outlasts our patience. Watch the scene where Axel gains entrance to the villain's gun club by pretending to be a courier delivering ammo in a paper bag which may explode if you breathe on it wrong. Uh huh.
Tony Scott, whose California (and Detroit) are shot in what appears to be eternal sunset or sunrise, knows how to direct an action sequence. There are plenty to be had in Beverly Hills Cop II. The chases and gunplay are slick and professionally handled, with Axel and his Beverly Hills counterparts wisecracking their way from one scene to the next. The plot centers around a gang of European villains who perform lucrative heists of wealthy establishments to fund their weapons shipments to Central America. Axel becomes involved when the villains attempt to murder Axel's friend, Beverly Hills' police captain Andrew Bogomil (Cox), because he is hot on their trail.
The baddies, led by zillionaire Maxwell Dent (Prochnow) and his lover Karla (Nielsen), are about as inconspicuous as a red wine stain on a white rug. It takes Axel about thirty seconds to figure out the scheme, while Bogomil was apparently laboring tirelessly trying to determine who and what these criminals were doing and why. The bad guys may as well have been wearing baseball caps with "VILLAIN" emblazoned on them. The plot itself may not hold up under scrutiny, but it will do as an excuse to hang slick action sequences on them.
Murphy mostly seems to be amusing himself this time. The comedy doesn't gel with the hyper action, and while Cop II isn't unwatchable and does contain a couple of laughs, it is mostly unnecessary except to capitalize on the runaway success of the first film. However, if you want to kill two hours watching an action comedy, Cop II will fill the bill.
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