John Landis Archives - Sean Kelly On Movies

Our marathon of the original Beverly Hills Cop trilogy concludes with the third film from 1994 directed by John Landis. Detroit detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is preparing to raid a car theft ring, observed by Inspector G. Douglas Todd (Gil Hill). However, Axel arrives to find a group of machine gun-toting men and in the ensuing shootout, Todd is shot and killed. Axel tracks the group to the theme park Wonder World in Beverly Hills, run by "Uncle Dave" Thornton (Alan Young). Returning to Beverly Hills, Axel is reunited with now-promoted Sergeant Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and his new partner Detective Jon Flint (Hector Elizondo). After travelling to Wonder World, Axel learns that the park's head of security Ellis DeWald (Timothy Carhart) is the one who shot and killed Todd. With the help of park employee Janice Perkins (Theresa Randle), Axel learns that DeWald and park manager Orrin Sanderson (John Saxon) have been using the park as a front for a counterfeiting ring. However, Axel's investigation is thwarted by Secret Service Agent Steve Fulbright (Stephen McHattie), who doesn't want a government investigation interrupted. Beverly Hills Cop III Synopsis Beverly Hills Cop III came out a decade after the original and seven years after Beverly Hills Cop II. One of the challenges this franchise faced was finding a new reason for Detroit detective Axel Foley to make a trip cross-country to Beverly Hills. In this case, Axel is tracing the men who killed his friend and supervisor Inspector G. Douglas Todd. Returning from the previous films is Judge Reinhold as Axel's Beverly Hills counterpart Billy Rosewood, now promoted to "Deputy Director of Operations for Joint Systems Interdepartmental Operational Command." The film also features the return of Bronson Pinchot as the flamboyant Serge, who has traded in art dealing for arms dealing. Héctor Elizondo (Pretty Woman) joins the cast as Billy Rosewood's new partner Detective Jon Flint, replacing John Ashton as Sergeant John Taggart. My Thoughts on Beverly Hills Cop III Reportedly one of the reasons for the seven-year gap between the second and third films of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise is the reluctance of Eddie Murphy to do another film. Indeed, there is a noticeable decline in quality in the plot of this film, when compared with the other two. Part of this comes from Eddie Murphy's decision to tone down the comedy, to show his character's growing maturity, and part comes from the hiring of John Landis as director, who is not known for making films in the buddy cop genre. I should spend some time talking about the very complicated relationship between Eddie Murphy and John Landis. Landis directed Murphy in 1983's Trading Places, which was one of his first big hits. However, John Landis' career would take a hit while filming Twilight Zone: The Movie, where a helicopter accident resulted in the deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two child stars. Landis went on trial for involuntary manslaughter and fell out with Eddie Murphy for not supporting him, despite Murphy giving him a chance by bringing Landis on to direct 1988's Coming to America. John Landis being brought on to direct Beverly Hills Cop III suggests that he at least patched things up with Eddie Murphy enough to work with him on another film. However, it would turn out that Beverly Hills Cop III would mark John Landis at the tail end of his career. In the three decades since this film came out, Landis only directed four additional feature films, focusing primarily on TV projects. I found that John Landis' directorial style clashed with the edgy tone of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. This is most apparent during the film's opening sequence, where overweight car mechanics dance and sing along to The Supremes. Then there's the fact that composer Harold Faltermeyer was replaced by disco pioneer Nile Rogers, with the score featuring many re-recordings of the "Axel F" theme to varying levels of quality. Probably the most pleasant surprise of Beverly Hills Cop III is Canadian character actor Stephen McHattie having a supporting role in the film as Secret Service Agent Steve Fulbright. I also enjoyed seeing John Saxon (Black Christmas, A Nightmare on Elm Street) as the secondary antagonist Orrin Sanderson. However, Timothy Carhart as Ellis De Wald is arguably the weakest of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise's antagonists. With the notable decline in quality in Beverly Hills Cop III it is no wonder that Eddie Murphy waited a full three decades before finally deciding to return to the franchise. However, the wait is now over and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is now streaming. This marathon will conclude tomorrow with my publicly available review of the new film.

Beverly Hills Cop III – Premium Classics

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