BEVERLY
HILLS COP 3-MOVIE COLLECTION
BEVERLY
HILLS COP (1984) Starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John
Ashton, Ronny Cox, Lisa Eilbacher, Steven Berkoff. Directed by Martin
Brest. (105 min)
BEVERLY
HILLS COP II (1987) Starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John
Ashton, Ronny Cox, Brigitte Nielsen, Jurgen Prochnow. Directed by
Tony Scott. (102 min)
BEVERLY
HILLS COP III (1994) Starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Hector
Elizondo, Timothy Carhart, John Saxon, Alan Young. Directed by John
Landis. (104 min)
ON
BLU-RAY FROM PARAMOUNT
Review
by Tiger the Terrible😽
In
a way, this new Blu-ray collection offers a fascinating chronicle of
a cutting-edge comedian’s slow descent into mediocrity.
Some
of you reading this are too young to remember when Eddie Murphy was
not-only the biggest movie star in the world, but really damn funny. Much of that was due to 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop,
where his effortless charisma and gift for improvisation elevated a
standard cop thriller into a modern classic. Even today, it remains
the quintessential Eddie Murphy movie (only Harold Faltermeyer’s
archaic synth score really dates it).
But
if you are of a certain age, you might concur that the Law of
Diminishing Returns definitely applies to this franchise.
Beverly Hills Cop II, while still enjoyable, lacks the
freshness of the original. Most of the main cast returns and Murphy
has his share of amusing moments, but he's a brand name by now,
meeting audience expectations without ever really exceeding them.
With Tony Scott directing, there’s an increased emphasis on big,
loud action over clever comedy, so the film sometimes plays more like
a music video or Lethal Weapon sequel. Still, it’s worth
revisiting from time to time.
The
less said about Beverly Hills Cop III, the better, its mediocrity typical of other films Murphy was making at the time and a strong
candidate for one of the most pointless sequels ever
made. The film is a complete misfire from top to bottom, starting with the
fatal decision to hire John Landis as director. With his penchant for
gratuitous cameos and in-jokes, he’s completely ill-suited to helm
a franchise like this. Murphy sleepwalks through the film
on autopilot, content to collect a paycheck without trying
to give Axel Foley the same wise-ass charm that endeared him to us in
the first place.
 |
| "My check has more zeroes!" |
But
for what it’s worth, this is the first time BHC II
& III have ever been released on Blu-ray. They are
unavailable separately, making this three-disc set essential for
completists. Only the first film comes with supplemental material,
most of it carried over from the 2011 release. However, a few new
features are tossed in to encourage double-dipping, such as a couple of
deleted scenes and some interviews from 1984. Additionally, the
overall audio and video quality is definite improvement over the
previous disc, a nice transfer that’s repeated for both sequels.
Watching
these films back-to-back is an interesting experience and could be
viewed as a microcosm of Eddie Murphy’s entire career during
that era. The original Beverly Hills Cop is the only essential
film in the collection, but the second isn’t without its
merits. BHC III may be a cynically-assembled trainwreck and
indicative of the overall drop in quality of his films, but makes a
nifty coaster.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
Beverly
Hills Cop is the only film with any bonus features.
FEATURETTES
- “Beverly Hills Cop: The Phenomenon Begins”
(retrospective doc); “A Glimpse Inside the Casting Process”; “The
Music of Beverly Hills Cop”
LOCATION
MAP – An interactive feature in which production designer
Angelo Graham talks about some of the various shooting locations.
AUDIO
COMMENTARY – By director Martin Brest
TRAILER
2
DELETED SCENES – These are actually pretty interesting, though
it’s understandable why they were removed.
INTERVIEWS
FROM 1984
BHC
MIXTAPE ‘84 – Clips from the film where its hit songs are
featured.
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
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