Well... the recent thread on '80s movies has got me thinking...
... I've reviewed a bunch 80s classics and their sequels in my thread over the past few months, here's the rundown on them so far:
#1- Young Guns
#9- The 'Burbs
#11- Predator
#12- Robocop
#13- John Carpenter's The Thing
#15- Terminator Foursome (1-4)
#22- Full Metal Jacket
#26- Christopher Reeve Superman Foursome (1-4) And Superman Returns
#29- Ghostbusters
#30- Star Wars Franchise (1-6)
#31- Critters
#36- The Abyss
#38- John Carpenter's The Fog
#40- The Shining
#41- Indiana Jones Foursome (1-4)
#44- Rocky Franchise (1-6)
#45- The Lost Boys
#47- Alien Foursome (1-4 Includes A Rerun Of Review #8)
#49- Gremlins Duo (1 & 2)
#55- Bladerunner
#61- Ghostbusters Duo (1 & 2 Includes A Rerun Of Review #29)
#65- Cat's Eye
#68- The Karate Kid (Original Movie)
#69- Die Hard Franchise (1-4)
#70- Poltergeist
#75- Critters Foursome (1-4 Includes A Rerun Of Review #31)
#78- The Fly (1986 Remake)
#80- Back To The Future Trilogy (1-3)
#81- Lethal Weapon Foursome (1-4)
#82- Star Trek Franchise (1-11)
#84- An American Werewolf In London
#93- Highlander
#94- The Goonies
#95- Burton's Batman
#113- Little Shop Of Horrors
#126- Legend
#127- Dead Calm
#129- Top Gun
#131- Twins
#145- Mississippi Burning
What got me thinking, is that I did a 5 Pixar Movie Marathon a while back so I've
gotten myself in the mood to do another Marathon: 80s Classics And Their Sequels.
15 reviews, mixed bag of Sci-Fi, Comedy, Drama, War, Thriller and a few from in between.
To kick it off then...
Part Of Rodent's 15 Review Marathon Of The 1980s Classics And Their Sequels
Review #146 (1st of 15):
Beverly Hills Cop Trilogy
Beverly Hills Cop
Axel Foley is a reckless and cocky Detroit Cop... when an old aquaintance shows up out of the blue, Axel is delighted and the pair go out for drinks... only for Axel and his friend to get attacked and Axel is knocked unconcious.
Upon waking up, he realises his friend is dead... and Axel, under the disapproval of his superiors, follows his Cop nose to discover the identity of the killer...
... what Axel discovers though is a massive drug smuggling ring in Beverly Hills and he has to enlist the help of the local Police Force to aid him in bringing down the ring, and bring justice for his murdered friend.
A pretty simplistic plot with a couple of relatively simple twists is backed up ferociously by Eddie Murphy's incredibly talent for comedy and smooth, cool persona.
BHC is a brilliantly pieced together crime-comedy-thriller that hits every nail on the head when it comes to action, laughs, thrills, spills and occassional genuine emotion too.
It's hard to put a finger on the specifics of what makes the film work, it's just as a whole the entire movie works wonderfully. The concoction of all the above elements is a very special one indeed.
The action involved is also one of the high points. There's many subtle levels to the more exciting scenes... not least the situational humour and occassional slapstick involved in the gunfights and explosions. It's exciting when it gets going and well choreographed too.
The entire cast hold all that together really well too.
Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley is an absolute mark of genius. Murphy's incredible persona and characteristics for the character are incredibly original. He's not just funny, but he's believeable, tough, has a human side and is perfect in the comedy-action scenes.
Judge Reinhold and John Ashton play Rosewood and Taggart respectively as two Beverly Hills Officers helping/hindering Axel in his exploits who are also perfectly cast.
Their on screen chemistry with each other and with Murphy is also brilliant... their roles also change as the movie progresses, from upstanding Officers of the law to slightly tainted individuals due to their time with Axel.
Rent-A-Baddie Steven Berkoff makes a nice appearance as the main antagonist, he plays the part well but could have been better.
Back up comes in the form of Ronnie Cox as Beverly Hills Police Captain Bogomil, Lisa Eilbacher, James Russo, Jonathan Banks, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot and a young Damon Wayans makes an appearance too.
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All in all, near perfect crime-comedy caper that has it all... laughs, explosions, action, emotion and a wonderfully synthesised 80s soundtrack.
My Rating: 97%
Beverly Hills Cop 2
When Captain Bogomil is shot while on duty, Rosewood and Taggart enlist the help of fellow officer and friend Axel Foley in tracking down the would-be killer.
It turns out the assassin is part of a much larger crime organisation and they need to bring down this ring of robbers and arms dealers before they can escape the country, never to be seen again.
With the success of the first film, the sequel was inevitable... a change in director was also a good point in regard to the studio's involvment. The late great Tony Scott took the helm for this installment.
What the second movie gives the audience is more of the same really, just slightly bigger and bolder in the action stakes... but that's it really...
... the humour of the original seems to have been completely withdrawn from the script with only the occassional hint of Murphy's trademark comedy in place of a more hard hitting action movie.
It's a shame really... the movie could have been far better than the first, the story, plot and screenplay are top notch and the action scenes are really really well put together and choreographed...
... but with lacking the freshness of the original and the massive lack of humour throughout, the movie has to be marked down considerably.
The acting however is as the first film.
This time round the viewer is treated to Brigitte Nielsen as Karla, a head henchman of the main antagonist. Nielsen's femme-fatale is absolutely perfect. She's threatening, sexy, full of charisma and plays her part brilliantly.
Jurgen Prochnow makes a show as main antagonist Maxwell Dent. He's another Rent-A-Baddie style villain but again, plays his part well.
Back up this time round comes in the forms of Dean Stockwell, Allen Garfield, Paul Reiser, Tommy Tiny Lister and... Chris Rock and Hugh Hefner make appearances too.
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All in all, a big step back from the original... lacking in humour and the trademark laughs of the first film, there's still a hint of comedy, just not enough... the action is more highly charged and will suit action fans more than the first but the lack of coherancy between this and the original is a real low point. I'd still recommend it though due to the action side of things.
My Rating: 82%
Beverly Hills Cop 3
When Foley's Detroit Captain is shot during a bust, he dies in Foley's arms... upon following some clues left behind, Axel realises that the killer is living in Beverly Hills and may be being harboured by a rich local.
He hops on a plane and heads to see his old pals at the Beverly Hills Police Force in the hopes they can help him track down the murderer.
What they end up uncovering is an embezzlement plan and yet another crime syndicate... and Foley makes it his personal goal to show these guys up for who they are and bring his Captain's killer to justice.
Thsi time round the filmmakers have gone more toward the other direction... more comedy, more (a lot more) slapstick, almost comicbook style action that's OTT and OTT gadgets and guns and, to top things off, a Fairground setting.
It's really a case of excess with the third installment... it's just to much in the other direction. The second film, though it was edging toward the more serious actioner, at least kept thing relatively real and realistic in regards to action and thrills.
This time round the only thing lacking from proceedings is boingy sounds when someone falls over and a horn sound when someone lands on their backside.
It's highly gimmicky and incredibly comicbook... to the point that pretty much all the humour seems to have been developed with kids in mind rather than the adult based humour and action of the first two.
Even the Fairground setting as a base for the antagonist's dealings falls flat. It's just too much cheese.
It's also highly cheesey with a lot of the dialogue.
There is a screenplay though... sadly, it's a midge modge of the first film and second film and is very, very simplistic.
The acting is again spot on from Murphy, but he seems to have an air of "why am I here?" about him.
Judge Reinhold also seems to be getting tired of it all.
No John Ashton this time round, but he's replaced with a similar character and actor in the form of Hector Elizondo. Again another formulaic piece of writing but Elizondo plays his part well.
Timothy Carhart plays main antagonist Wallis Dewald... he's another apt baddie but just feels a bit bland for a bad guy.
Bronson Pinchot makes a reappearance. Other than that, the rest of the cast is pretty bare.
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All in all, hugely disappointing and full of cheesey acting, dialogue and gimmicky elements to the script. It's even so comicbook in tone there's a cartoon character named after our main hero.
Awful movie to say the least.
My Rating: 27%