Eddie Murphy explains how Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F will fix one of the problems from the previous film. Returning to his cop role after 30 years, Murphy takes to the California streets again for the fourth film in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, which sees Axel Foley come back to Beverly Hills after a new conspiracy threatens his daughter’s life. In addition to Murphy, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F features a leading cast including Kevin Bacon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Taylour Paige, Bronson Pichot, and Paul Reiser.

Speaking on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Murphy discusses one way in which Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is different from Beverly Hills Cop III.

In his interview, Murphy was asked about working with Bacon, who the actor called “the perfect villain.” Reflecting on the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, Murphy noted that the first and second films “are really good” while the third one lacked “a great villain.” Under Bacon’s control, Murphy assures audiences that Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is back to having a “great, great villain,” making the movie better. Check out the full quote from Murphy below:

He is the perfect villain. One of the things that makes Beverly Hills Cop work is the first two Beverly Hills Cops are really good, adn the third one is a little soft. And it’s because we didn’t have a great villain. And now you’ve got this great villain in Kevin Bacon. I don’t know what it is about leading men who do villain roles, he’s got this great, great villain.

How Will Beverly Hills Cop 4 Fare In Theaters?

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F needs to have a stellar antagonist in order to keep the film’s narrative tension high enough to bring audiences back to the theater after all these years. Murphy is not the only one who felt that Beverly Hills Cop III was “a little soft” or something in that vein. The third film was the lowest-rated of the franchise by far, garnering a mere 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. This represented a significant drop from 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop, which has a Certified Fresh 83% on the critics aggregator.

Not only did it fare poorly among critics, but Beverly Hills Cop III was a box office bomb at the time of its release. Made on an estimated $50 million budget, the third film made only $119.2 million at the box office. This was barely enough to make a profit, making Beverly Hills Cop III a massive failure. Given this history, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F faces the pressure to perform, in order to return the franchise to its good streak from yesteryear.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F will face some significant barriers in its box office success as it hits theaters this summer. For one, the film is releasing on the same day as Despicable Me 4, which is slated to be one of this summer’s biggest blockbusters. Competing with any family film is hard as the summer vacation packs theaters with families, but a Despicable Me movie will prove to be particularly difficult competition. If the improved villain and promising Beverly Hills Cop 4 trailer equates to a significantly improved story, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F may just be able to pull it off.

Source: Late Night with Seth Meyers