Beverly Hills Cop

"I don't think cost is the issue here, sir. I think the issue should be my blatant disregard for proper procedure." - Aexl Foley

release year: 1984
genre: comedy/action
viewing setting: home DVD 11/23/13

synopsis: A Detroit cop's friend gets murdered, and he tracks the culprits down to Los Angeles.

impressions: If you can look past Axel Foley's basic problem - complete and total insubordination - the mvie is funny. I put it that way because all I could think about was how he repeatedly ignored what he was told to do and just did what he wanted, acting on a hunch. This wasn't cool insubordination like in Lethal Weapon - it came off as annoying. Having said that, the movie does have a lot of funny parts and lines, plus some serious gunfights and deaths. Plus there's an outstanding soundtrack of background music.

acting: Eddie Murphy is in his prime here, cracking jokes let and right; in fact, almost everything's a joke to him. Judge Reinhold and John Ashton are the local cops assigned to keep him ot of trouble. Ronny Cox is the police lieutanant. Steven Berkoff is the ruthless main bad guy. Look for early appearances of Bronson Pinchot, Paul Reiser, and Damon Wayans.

final word: Entertaining, but not entirely realistic.

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