Le Flic de Beverly Hills 3

The early 90s were not kind to Eddie Murphy. Paramount butchered Another 48 Hours in the editing room, audiences turned their noses up at Boomerang, and almost nobody even bothered with The Distinguished Gentleman. Eddie had lost his pulling power and decided to go back to the role that made him a superstar. But 1994 just wasn't the right moment as most of the cast and crew were busy, leaving very little in the way of continuity. Several scripts came and went, and what we finally got was a lame 'Die Hard in a Theme Park' story. There is a huge list of reasons why BHC3 stinks: No Taggart. No Bogomil. No Jeffrey. No Harold Faltermeyer. No Bruckheimer/Simpson. No opening title. No wisecracking. Don't get me wrong, I like Hector Elizondo, but he's no substitute for John Ashton (who's absence is explained with a single, flippant line of dialogue). I can't help but think if the above list was shorter then the movie wouldn't have been such a failure. Where on earth did the $70 million budget go? John Landis' action scenes are flat and static, with no real spark or energy. All three Beverly Hills Cop movies have had horrible scripts, huge plot holes, and hammy villains, so I guess in a way it IS in keeping with the tradition. Eddie Murphy gives a very lazy, disinterested performance as Axel Foley, which reminds me a lot of Seagal's effort in Under Siege 2. Neither of them wanted to be there and were phoning it in long distance. This is NOT the Axel you know and love here. It's saved from the gutter by Judge Reinhold's gung-ho as usual Rosewood, and the last minute addition of Axel Fox, a nice touch and the most three-dimensional character in the movie.

Eddie Murphy called the original "Beverly Hills Cop" his best movie after "48 Hrs.," and with good reason; the first sequel wasn't as good but it certainly had its moments. But for "Beverly Hills Cop III"... well, I never thought I'd say this, but where are Simpson and Bruckheimer when you need them? Not to mention Ronny Cox, John Ashton and John Landis when he was good? (In 1996 Landis had the unfortunate task of having to come to Britain to promote his movie "The Stupids" - unfortunate because it opened here the same day as "Independence Day," with predictably horrific consequences. I felt very sorry for how he was reduced to stuff like that... and this.) When an operation to take out a chop-shop goes wrong and leads to his boss being shot and killed, the trail leads our hero from Detroit to Beverly Hills again (to paraphrase the words of Bruce Willis, "How can the same s*** happen to the same guy three times?") and in particular to a Disneyland-type theme park. But unlike the other two movies, which had a good mix of action and comedy, "Beverly Hills Cop III" is alarmingly short on actual humour and way too violent; Steven E. deSouza's script has "by the numbers" stamped all over it, and hardly anyone seems to have his or her heart in it, including the usually dependable Murphy. (Hector Elizondo, Judge Reinhold and John Saxon are welcome, but underused.) Just as "Licence To Kill" didn't really feel like a Bond movie, so this doesn't feel like it belongs with the other two; even the return of Bronson Pinchot as Serge feels arbitrary. Add a scene with an amusement ride in peril that's ruined by effects that would be easier to forgive if this movie had been made in 1974 rather than '94, throw in a poor score by Nile Rodgers that leans heavily on Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F" (not that fans of song soundtracks have anything to cherish here either), and you have a real life-sappening loser - almost as bad as "Boomerang," which at least had Halle Berry. Joe Dante, Arthur Hiller, Martha Coolidge and Barbet Schroeder are among the cameos in this one; you almost wish they had directed. Another reason why I don't like parks...

In the TV guide this movie was given "Don't bother" but I thought I would watch it anyway.That was the first time I did watch it and I enjoyed it heaps. It had action in it and also humor. But I think this one is the worst Beverly Hills Cop out of the three. I have this one on tape off the TV and it is bad because they cut out the swearing.(Which would have added to the humor) This Movie is not the worst film but not the best. I hope Number 4 is going to be a big hit,if they make it. On a scale from 1 to 10 I would give this Movie a 5. It was I guess only OK though it could have been better however I hope this movie hasn't stopped any chances of a number 4 coming out.

I would just like to say that this is a VERY VERY good movie along with the other 2 Beverley hills cop movies. The 1st 2 are definately far superior to Beverley Hills Cop 3, but never the less this movie is still very good. The return of Serge is a god move as it brings back plenty of laughs and the use of a theme park is also a very good move as not many films use a hideout which is family orientated. This film is hilarious and if anyone disagrees then please e-mail me.