‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’: 4 Best Callbacks to the 1984 Original
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, the fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, has finally arrived on Netflix. In the long-awaited sequel, Eddie Murphy once again reprises his role as the wisecracking detective Axel Foley, who returns to Beverly Hills to reunite with old pals John Taggart (John Ashton) and Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) to uncover a criminal conspiracy. But returning characters aren’t the only connective tissue Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F has with the original films. It seems director Mark Malloy has sprinkled the fourth installment with a few winks and nods to the original film and its sequel. The director recently told Variety that Axel F is “My love letter to the first two films.”
From particularly framed shots to ‘80s tunes that appeared in the soundtrack, here are some of Axel F’s homages to the original film.
“The Heat Is On”
One of the biggest callbacks to the original Beverly Hills Cop happens during the opening credits. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F opens with Foley sitting behind the wheel of a Chevy Nova as he drives through the streets of Detroit as Glenn Frey’s “The Heat is On” blares on the radio. That’s the same exact song from the opening credits of the 1984 original.
And much like the original film, the first big action scene in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F involves Foley chasing a criminal down the streets of Detroit in a snowplow. Many fans will recognize this as a total homage to the first action sequence in the first film, where Axel is chasing after a stolen truck filled with illegal cargo while police cars pursue both the truck and him through the streets of Detroit.
No Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack is complete without Harold Faltermeyer
“The Heat Is On” isn’t the only song from the first film to make a comeback, either. Not long after Glenn Frey’s hit song plays, Bob Seger’s “Shakedown” from Beverly Hills Cop II and the Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance” can be heard (the latter was also part of the original’s soundtrack). And of course, no Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack is complete without Harold Faltermeyer’s “Axel F” theme, which also makes a comeback.
Return to the Biltmore Hotel
In Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, eagle-eyed fans should notice that the hotel Foley stays in looks very familiar. That’s because the Biltmore Hotel was once again used to pose as The Beverly Palm Hotel in the film. Fun fact: The Biltmore is actually located in Downtown Los Angeles, a rather tedious trek from Beverly Hills depending how dire L.A. traffic conditions are, so signage had to be changed to give the illusion that the hotel was located in Beverly Hills.
Axel Foley reunites with Taggart and Rosewood
There’s a famous scene in the original film with Foley in the backseat of a police car being driven by Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) with John Taggart (John Ashton) in the front passenger seat. The director clearly made a mirror image of that scene when Foley, once again, finds himself as a backseat passenger in their car. According to a recent interview with Variety, director Mark Molloy revealed that this new car scene was never in the original script and that he had to fight to include it. “I just remember it so clearly. Almost like, as a fan, I want to be back in that car with the three of them, ” he told Variety regarding paying homage to the iconic scene. “Are they any wiser? We don’t know. But it’s just such a thing, and as a fan, I’m exactly where I want to be.”
Are there any other Beverly Hills Cop homages we missed? Sound off in the comments!
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