‘Beverly Hills Cop 2’ Was Way More Brutal Than You Remember

The big picture

• The original
  The Beverly Hills Police
  The film launched Eddie Murphy to superstardom and was followed by three sequels.
• The second installment, directed by Tony Scott, has a more action-oriented and violent tone compared to the first film.
• Tony Scott's visual style creates a unique dynamic between a typical Eddie Murphy comedy and a boisterous 80s action flick.

The public consensus on the The Beverly Hills Police the series is understood. The original 1984 film was a cultural phenomenon that took off Eddie Murphy to superstardom Being a blockbuster in the 1980s, it naturally received a sequel three years later and another seven years later. An inherited sequel, Beverly Hills Police: Axel F, just came out on Netflix. Where the first installment, directed by Martin Brest, is iconic for its memorable lines and high-concept premise of a Detroit cop out of water in Beverly Hills, these latest installments are more or less disposable, ultimately failing to capture the magic of the original However, while The Beverly Hills Police feels like lightning in a bottle, its 1987 sequel, Beverly Hills Cop II, should not be ruled out. After all, it was directed by Hollywood's pre-eminent maximalist, Tony Scotti the content of the film is much more brutal and unyielding than one might remember.

'Beverly Hills Cop' was a cultural phenomenon that demanded a sequel

The Beverly Hills PoliceThe rise to being the highest-grossing film of its year was a miracle considering its spontaneous output. The film was conceived from loose, broad ideas conceived by the eccentric Paramount executive Don Simpsonwhose biography, High concept, details the development of the film. The bio's title refers to the commercially viable production and marketing model of the late Simpson and his former business partner, Jerry Bruckheimer, creating sellable films based on their premise. The Beverly Hills Police, a fish-out-of-water story about a Detroit cop, Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), who investigates a criminal ring in Beverly Hills, California, responsible for his friend's murder, epitomizes the model of high concept Starting as a rudimentary Sylvester Stallone action vehicle, the script was rewritten several times to expand the comic aspect of the story. Finally, when Murphy came aboard, fresh off the boat 48 hours and a show-stealing race Saturday night livecompletely changed the fabric of The Beverly Hills Policeas many of the holes in the script were patched up by his improvisational skills.

It's a massive hit, a sequel to The Beverly Hills Police it was a guarantee. The main cast, Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashtoni Ronny Coxreturned by Beverly Hills Cop IIwhile Martin Brest, who later directed midnight race, he didn't. To replace Brest, Simpson and Bruckheimer looked to their farming system, with no crop more profitable than Tony Scott, who previously ran Top Gunthe biggest hit of 1986 that ignited Tom Cruise like a superstar The decision to cast Scott, a showman with a music video aesthetic, but no comedy specialist, created unforeseen results for producers. editor Billy Weberin an interview for the site, We Are Cult, he recalled the screening of the first cut of Blow II, when Simpson and Bruckheimer responded with lukewarm resignation toward Scott's film. “Don and Jerry just looked around and shrugged and said, 'Huh,'” Weber said. “It wasn't a comedy… it played like a straight action movie“, it continued.

Tony Scott's directorial style complemented the making of big box office hits

Although modern audiences may be surprised at how much gritty action takes place Shot I, Brest's film is a comedy, first and foremost. The film lives and dies on the prowess of its comedic protagonist. The visual language was bright enough and the action pieces were effective, but they weren't the calling cards of the film. When you hire the late Tony Scott to direct an expensive blockbuster, be prepared to receive the most dynamic and expressive photography imaginable. Critically maligned during his lifetime, Scott was unfairly labeled “all style and no substance”. Although not a prime candidate for a film school lecture, Scott has distinct visual characteristics, which satisfy the basis of auteur theory in film scholarship. These traits include saturated colors, kinetic camera movements and elegant photography. At the time, its aesthetic was cited as the root of all the problems in 1980s cinema: garish visuals with empty themes constructed by people born from commercials and music videos.

Scott, the true predecessor of Michael Bayhe directed films with a urgency that often evolves into brazenness. The kinetic spirit of his colors and camera movements also applies to his text, which usually depicts unrelentingly violent and cruel protagonists, including Bruce Willis' entered a hoary private eye The last Boy Scout or Denzel Washingtonthe revenge-driven bodyguard Man on Fire. When studios gave the green light to a sequel to a blockbuster like The Beverly Hills Police, they probably envisioned a safe investment, nothing too esoteric or over the top. When you have a beloved American icon like Eddie Murphy, keeping him healthy is the right thing to do from a financial perspective. In Blow II, while never turning heel, Axel Foley is remarkably brash. Compared to the original, where his sly personality allowed him to stay under the radar, Axel's commanding persona in the sequel is demonstrated by Murphy's flamboyant performance, stylized wardrobe and brand new Ferrari. For better or worse, Murphy hijacks every scene to riff. These scenes, when Murphy acquires an alias or sneaks through an obstacle, seem to be very improvised. If his ad-libbing was perfect in the first film, viewers might see the proverbial sweat as Murphy tries to steal every scene.

What did Tony Scott bring to 'Beverly Hills Cop II'?

The studio's lukewarm response to the initial projection of Beverly Hills Cop II indicates the radical changes that Tony Scott brought to the Axel Foley story. There aren't many more action scenes Blow IIbut the the fervor and explosiveness of each piece of gameplay trumps all the rudimentary shootouts and chase sequences in Shot I. Scott sets the tone immediately with a jewelry box heist orchestrated by an antagonist, Karla Fry (Brigitte Nielsen). There is nothing on the screen that is impervious to an explosion. All of the heist sequences are highlights of the film and make you wish Scott had directed a heist thriller at some point in his career. Each Simpson/Bruckheimer film is associated with virtuosic action sequences, bright colors, and a distinct 1980s aesthetic, and Shot I seemed to tick all the boxes. When Scott came to direct the sequel, Martin Brest's film retroactively seemed tame.

All aspects of Blow II are generally stronger, starting with Murphy's delivery, the addition of a belligerent new police chief played by Allen Garfield, and the violent nature of the action scenes. Scott emphasizes destruction in the wake of action scenes, as seen in the carnage caused by the chase sequence when Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) chases one of the perpetrators in a cement truck. The iconic synth-pop score that defined the first film seems to be repeated throughout the sequel. During the climactic shootout between Foley, Rosewood and Taggart (John Ashton) and the Alphabet Crimes gang, an all-out war ensues with heavy weaponry. The jump in betting and spectacle is earlier The fast and the furious“Bold leap from petty theft to high-tech global combat. In the spirit of the film's ostentatious shift in tone are the direct allusions Clint Eastwood and the dirty harry series Not only does Axel act like the preeminent super cop, but Rosewood is armed with a magnum similar to Harry Callahan's iconic weapon of choice. The weaponry upgrade acts as a meta-commentary on the state of action sequels in the 80s and its maximalist approach.

narratively, Beverly Hills Cop II it looks a lot like its predecessor. After the near-fatal shooting of Captain Bogomil (Ronny Cox), Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to uncover the mystery surrounding a series of high-value heists called the Alphabet Crimes. Once again, the three are rogue agents investigating a case their superior officers want no part of. Because the story arc is so similar, the routines that made the original film a phenomenon feel rehashed in the sequel. Despite the formulated approach, Tony Scott's inviting visual style provides a curious dynamic to the film, which works like a toss-up between a typical Eddie Murphy comedy and a raucous '80s action flick. In one corner, Murphy is performing an extension of his stand-up routine, doing impressions and engaging in cons to advance the story, and on the other, Scott is making every shot of the sky and the sun-baked exterior look as vibrant as possible. .

Tony Scott is perhaps the ultimate “vulgar auteur,” a title given to genre directors who are re-evaluated as genuine artists, even if they were ignored in their own time. They redefine what makes a film sound artistic, often defying the conventions of auteur cinema. A commercial director who specializes in slick action spectacles with a bombastic attitude to tone and characterization, Scott may not be the slickest director, but he is undeniable as an entertainer and iconoclast of blockbuster cinema. By making a safe and reliable sequel to a popular star-driven comedy The Beverly Hills Police and by turning it into a showcase of chaotic action, stripped of the first's endearing wit, Scott showed he was never afraid to push the boundaries.

Beverly Hills Cop II i Beverly Hills Police: Axel F are available to stream on Netflix in the US

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