Beverly Hills Axel F Movie Review

  

Beverly Hills Axel F

Director: Mark Malloy

Stars: Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige

Runtime: 1 hour 58 mins

Genre: Action comedy

It is exactly 30 years since Beverly Hills Cop III was released, and 40 years since the original.

This time round, Murphy who serves as producer as well as returning as the main star has partnered with Netflix to bring us this latest entry in the long running franchise. Originally penned to be a TV series, this movie is the directorial debut for Mark Malloy. So was it worth the wait? 

Let's break it down..

Story and Plot

When Axel Foley's daughter Jane (Paige) is threatened after she represents a suspected cop killer, the wisecracking former LA detective partners up with Detective Bobby Abbott (Levitt) and some old friends to break open a city wide conspiracy and help his daughter.   

My overall thoughts...

The Beverly Hills Cop franchise has never been one that I really followed when I was growing up in the 80s & 90's. Whilst I saw the original and it's sequels (the less said about part III the better), the franchise is not one that I adored, like so many other people have. So I came to Axel F more a casual fan with an open mind whilst not being hugely hung up on the franchise. 

I enjoyed Axel F, Murphy seamlessly slips back into his most iconic role. The movie is at its best (like previous entries) when Foley is wisecracking and speed talking his way into or out of situations. Murphy does a good job at recapturing the magic. 

Axel F could go down as probably the second best entry in the franchise. It definitely beats Part III of which this is not lost on the makers of this movie with a nice meta reference when Foley's case file is being reviewed a character says "94 - not your finest hour".

The movie is however let down by its over convoluted plot points that make what is at heart a simple story (veteran cop protecting his daughter after she represents an potentially innocent man) into something that takes on too many twists & turns involving corrupt cops and drug lords. Also you can spot the main villain a mile off from the first look the character gave. 

The cast is good though with a nice integration of old returning characters and new alike.

Cast

Eddie Murphy is on top form, it was great to see he didn't just phone in his performance. He is effortlessly charismatic and funny together with that million dollar smile. He looks good for his age and is adorned (for the most part) in his iconic jeans & jacket. As he aged by far the best of the returning cast there are no "too old for this shit" gags, which would have been good considering an on foot chase sequence (barring a brief one at the start) is no where to be seen.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a nice addition (he's a fantastic actor) but I thought he was strangely miscast and didn't really have that much chemistry with Murphy.

Taylour Paige as Foley's daughter Jane was excellent. Proving to be a force to be reckoned with and to be more than a match for her wayward father.

Veteran actor Kevin Bacon makes a nice addition to the cast as Captain Grant the BHPD new captain.

As for the returning cast, Judge Reinhold's Billy Rosewood is back (resembling Mickey Rourke sorry to say), who subsequently quit the force since part III.  John Ashton as John Taggart former detective now outgoing captain of the BHPD returns and heavily plays the "I'm too old for this shit" card. Paul Reisner briefly returns as Jeffery Friedmen, Foley's Detroit PD Captain and finally Bronson Pinchot as Serge returns in a brief but fun cameo.

Cinematography

DP Eduard Grau makes the movie look good and works hard to re-create the iconic look and feel of LA as depicted in the iconic 1984 original. 

The movie also makes a great use of practical effects to again make it feel part of the original trilogy. 

On screen Action

A few months back Eddie Murphy said "It felt old man, I did Beverly Hills Cop when I was 21 and I'm 63 now" You can see this from the action which is with the exception of a very brief on-foot chase sequence almost exclusively limited to vehicle chases. The action set pieces are well done though, especially the helicopter chase. 

Music, Score & Sound

Seasoned composer Lorne Balfe provides the score, it's good and nicely integrates Harold Faltermeyer's iconic theme. The movie also features some well chosen needle drops during the chase sequences.  

Whilst the movie never lives up to the performance of it's main star, it's fun to spend time with Axel Foley once again. The movie has an old school feel and a good cast. The villain you however will spot a mile off.  

Verdict  - Good not Great

Fly Me to the Moon Movie Review

  

Fly Me to the Moon

Director: Greg Berlanti

Stars: Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson & Woody Harrelson

Runtime: 2 hours 12 mins

Genre: Space Race romantic comedy

 

Fly Me to the Moon, an Apple Original originally had actor Jason Bateman attached to direct, however he left over creative differences, so Greg Berlanti took the helm. This is Berlanti's first movie in six years with his last movie Love, Simon being an Indie hit. The movie was also supposed to be the re-teaming of Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson but Evans pulled out owing to scheduling conflicts on Red One so Tatum took the role.

 

Let's break it down..

 

Story and Plot

 

During the 1960s Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union, after a meet-cute at a roadside diner, a relationship develops between Cole Davis (Tatum) the NASA flight director in charge of the Apollo 11 launch and Kelly Jones (Johansson) the marketing specialist brought in to fix NASA's public image and stage a just in case "back-up" fake moon landing.

 

My overall thoughts...

 

I have a soft spot for any movie about NASA and the Space Race, whilst this movie uses the Space Race as the backdrop it is a revisionist version of history whilst also being a rom-com. 

Rom-coms back in the 80's and 90's ruled the box office with hits such as When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle & Whilst You Were Sleeping. As a genre thanks to the likes of movies such as Anyone But You ($219M worldwide BO against a $25M budget) released in December last year, it is starting to make a comeback at the box office. 

I'm happy to report that Fly Me to the Moon continues this trend, I enjoyed the movie. Whist it’s not a great movie it’s solid enough. It has an engaging story, has some really funny parts. It has a good cast which is well led by Tatum and Johansson. It’s also nicely shot and makes the movie feel evocative of the era.

My issues with the movie is there were some pacing issues, especially in the third act which made the movie feel too long. They could have shaved 10-15 minutes off the run time. There are also some tonal inconsistencies, one minute it’s firmly in rom-com territory then swerves more into a drama.

 

Cast

 

Channing Tatum has had a fairly busy few years, showing up in movies as much in cameo appearances (Bullet Train & Free Guy) as well as movies in his own right such as The Lost City, and Magic Mike's Last Dance and Dog. Here he very much veers back into the The Lost City territory with another rom-com. 

 

For some the jury is still out on how good an actor Tatum is, but I enjoyed him in this movie. He was well suited to the role of Cole Davis the flight director haunted by the Apollo 1 launch pad disaster. He has excellent chemistry with Johansson. Tatum is a good fit as I actually think given the history of Chris Evan's and Scarlett Johansson in the MCU seeing them romantically involved may have been a bit jarring for some audiences.

 

Scarlett Johansson is the consummate professional, equally at home in a big tent pole blockbuster such as next year's Gareth Edwards helmed Jurassic World sequel or in little known indie movies. She is excellent in the movie and is really its main star. She is gorgeous as ever and out-acts Tatum at every turn. 

 

Veteran actor Woody Harrelson (who serves as the stories narrator of sorts) plays Moe a mysterious government liaison between NASA and Nixon’s administration, he clearly had fun in this role that showed his lighter side.

 

Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) is also excellent as Henry Smalls, Davis’s right hand man. 

 

Cinematography & Effects

 

DP Dariusz Wolski (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Martian & Napoleon) provides the cinematography for the movie. He does a fantastic job of recreating the look and feel of the 1960's Apollo era. Using real footage and archival TV clips such as the legendary announcement by TV news anchor man Walter Kronkite.

The movie had a nice blend of VFX, CGI and in-camera effects to recreate the Apollo space mission and Kennedy Space Center during that era. Whilst you can see they used cutting edge tech to recreate certain aspects of how the movie looked, it never felt too heavy on the CGI. 

 

On screen Action

 

It’s no surprise to learn that the action in Fly Me to the Moon is well, based around flying to the moon. Detailing the building up to, launch of and landing of Apollo 11. For a NASA and space nut like myself, who has visited Kennedy Space Center and had the privilege of seeing the Space Shuttle launch in 2005, I lapped it up. The action is well shot and faithful to the real life events, even though there is a fictional storyline running throughout. 

 

Music, Score & Sound

 

Daniel Pemberton provides the score which I really enjoyed, at times evoking James Horner’s Apollo 13 iconic score. 

There are some nice 1960’s needle drops throughout, and yes “Fly Me to the Moon” is used but unfortunately not sung by Mr Ol’ Blue Eyes himself. 

 

Fly Me to the Moon is a charming Space Race based yarn with great turns from both Tatum and Johansson. Whilst it’s a tad too long and suffers from tonal inconsistencies it’s a solid movie which will play well to a wide audience. 

Verdict  - Good not Great