8/10
"The heat is back on"
6 April 2017
Of all the Beverly Hills Cop films this is actually the one I prefer. True it focuses less on the development of the Axel Foley character but it's tight linear structure, iconic baddie (in the form of leggy blonde Bridgette Nielson), witty one liners and fast paced action sequences provide the bread and butter of any half decent action flick.. Oh and it also has the added bonus of featuring the Playboy Mansion too.

It suits Eddie Murphy perfectly, given that his stage persona is all about being the coolest, biggest personality in the room. Although it presents as a 'fish out of water' story, BHC2 is actually more like the tale of a virus entering a new population that has no immunity to it. Nobody can defend against the motor mouth of Axel, Murphy's character. I sometimes wished someone did in fact, just once, so that he could get out of the situation some other way, but he talked his way out of or into everything perfectly, without fail. It's an enjoyable romp, with a central trio whose friendship I believed in. Scott's fingerprint is visible in the thrilling car chase sequences and (literally) explosive shoot-outs. There's not much depth to it, but you can get that elsewhere, like in the work of Tony Scott's older brother Ridley. Tony (now sadly deceased) did stylish action thrillers, and he did them damn well.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10.
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