The long-awaited Beverly Hills Cop 4 can improve upon Eddie Murphy's Coming 2 America comeback, with the latest Netflix-backed installment reported to start filming soon. The much-vaunted Hollywood IP propelled Eddie Murphy's career into a different stratosphere with its original 1984 release, grossing a whopping $316 million in the process. Its sequel, Beverly Hills Cop 2, performed similarly well, keeping the same production team and actors that shone in the original before the franchise flopped in 1994, with poor box office sales and sweeping cast changes contributing to the shelving of the franchise.
Eddie Murphy may be eyeing something of a renaissance in his acting career after a 7-year hiatus following lukewarm performances in Tower Heist and A Thousand Words. His reprisal of Prince Akeem's character in the Coming 2 America sequel certainly delivered fanservice and familiar punchlines in equal measure. While critics remained largely on the fence for the Amazon Original movie, Coming 2 America was the first Prime Original to top Amazon's streaming charts upon release, noting the original's enduring popularity as a key factor.
Yet Beverly Hills Cop 4 can beat Murphy's Coming 2 America comeback, provided it utilizes its nostalgia reserves correctly. While Coming 2 America was serviceable and a fine way for Eddie Murphy to re-acclimatize in the industry, Beverly Hills Cop 4 has all the tools to be an upgrade on his last movie. Additionally, if Beverly Hills Cop 4 can strike a better balance between fanservice and cohesive narrative, it can cast a wider net than Coming 2 America was able to.
The Beverly Hills Cop movies are still sitting on an awful lot of goodwill, with nostalgia a powerful drug for both Hollywood and the general public in equal measure. While Coming 2 America understood this based on its premise and humor, its execution left a lot to be desired, with many of its one-liners not landing the same way they did in 1988. Beverly Hills Cop 4 should look to avoid these pitfalls, with the original's script primarily driven by trademark Jerry Bruckheimer action sequences and elevated by Murphy's humor rather than solely relying on it. With Bruckheimer returning as producer alongside old pal Eddie Murphy for the fourth Beverly Hills Cop installment, it seems this duo also understands the power of recapturing the elements that made the original great.
This premise also extends to the cast, with many fans recoiling from Beverly Hills Cop 3 after the film retired Sargeant John Taggart (John Ashton). At the same time, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) received a promotion. Dismantling the seniority dynamic between Axel Rose (Murphy), Taggart, and Rosewood was disastrous for the third movie, and Beverly Hills Cop 4 would do well to learn from this. The formula of uptight and at times inept cops being frustrated and wooed by Axel in equal measure really excelled as a vehicle for Murphy's humor, so bringing Ashton back into the fold seems a no-brainer provided the actor is willing.
Yet, the biggest hurdle Beverly Hills Cop 4 must clear vs. Coming 2 America lies within its narrative. Coming 2 America's premise felt tired, and the Beverly Hills Cop sequel will surely feel the same unless it strives to offer something new. Alongside properly utilizing the nostalgia of the original cast and gritty action that made the franchise a hit, Beverly Hills Cop 4 must deliver a script that surprises. The buddy cop action-comedy formula is a well-worn one, so how directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys For Life) deviate from this will be critical to the movie's success. Details on the Beverly Hills Cop reboot remain scarce. Still, if Eddie Murphy can recapture his sparkle as Axel Rose from the original movie alongside fresh narrative twists, then Beverly Hills Cop 4 will surely dwarf Murphy's first comeback film.