Beverly Hills Cop
1984 · Directed by Martin Brest
Original language: English
- comedy
- crime
- action
The story
Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.
What it’s like
Bright, sun-bleached Los Angeles afternoons, palm-lined boulevards, pastel mansions and glossy gallery interiors, all shot with the easy, saturated polish of mid-'80s studio cinema. The camera stays mostly conventional, with plenty of medium two-shots and punchy cuts timed to the jokes, and the nights turn to neon-tinted strip clubs and hushed dark warehouses. Harold Faltermeyer's synth-pop score bounces through the chase sequences and the sun-drenched cruising, while the banter does most of the work between set pieces. The vibe is breezy, cheeky and fast, a summer-holiday caper with a streetwise edge, good for a lazy weekend evening or a comfort rewatch with friends. Its violence is moderate: a few shootings and a murder that sets the story moving, with gunfire and chases that stay brisk rather than gruesome; there is some profanity, drug content and sexual innuendo, but nothing lingers. Its arc follows an outsider cop who refuses to be boxed in by rules and gradually wins over a set of stuffy, suspicious colleagues. It suits people who want a funny, unpretentious action comedy with a strong lead and a sense of fun.
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