Beverly Hills Cop II

Paramount/Murphy. Director Tony Scott; Producer Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer; Screenplay Larry Ferguson, Warren Skaaren; Camera Jeffrey L. Kimball; Editor Billy Weber, Chris Lebenson, Michael Tronick; Music Harold Faltermeyer; Art Director Ken Davis

Eddie Murphy
Judge Reinhold
Jurgen Prochnow
Ronny Cox
John Ashton
Brigitte Nielsen

Beverly Hills Cop II is a noisy, numbing, unimaginative, heartless remake of the original film.

Getting Eddie Murphy back to Beverly Hills from his native Detroit turf is the critical wounding of police captain Ronny Cox by a group of rich baddies committing the 'Alphabet Crimes', a series of violent robberies at heavily guarded locations. Once again, he goads reluctant cops Judge Reinhold and John Ashton into straying from the straight and narrow, once again the group visits a strip joint that looks like a Flashdance spinoff, and finally shoot it out with the villains.

Criminal element is represented by enforcer Dean Stockwell, towering hitwoman Brigitte Nielsen, who looks like Max Headroom's sister, and kingpin Jurgen Prochnow.

Murphy keeps things entertainingly afloat with his sassiness, raunchy one-liners, take-charge brazenness and innate irreverence. Murphy's a hoot in numerous scenes, but less so than on other occasions because of the frosty context for his shenanigans.

1987: Nomination: Best Song ('Shakedown')

(Color) Widescreen. Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1987. Running time: 102 MIN.

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