Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F director Mark Molloy explains why the fourth film takes a meta jab at Beverly Hills Cop III. Directed by Malloy – with a script written by Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten – the fourth film in the franchise follows the titular Detroit cop as he returns to Beverly Hills after his daughter’s life is threatened and teams up with his old pals to uncover a conspiracy. Eddie Murphy once again leads the Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F cast alongside Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, and Kevin Bacon.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Molloy explained why, in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Gordon-Levitt’s character Detective Bobby Abbot takes a meta jab at Beverly Hills Cop III with the “not your finest hour” line. The director, who has not seen the third film himself, says he “had a lot to do with that” line and Murphy, who hasn’t held back his opinions about the third movie, also embraced its inclusion. Read Molloy’s full comments below:

Yeah, I’ve never seen it, and Jerry hasn’t either. (Laughs.) When I came in, I said to Jerry [Bruckheimer], “I haven’t seen Beverly Hills Cop III.” And he was like, “I didn’t do it, so you don’t need to see it.” And I was like, “OK, cool, Jerry. I’m going to let it go then.”

Yeah, I’ve never seen the film, but I’ve heard what Eddie has said about it. I even talked about it with a few of the other actors that were in it, and I just thought it would be a really fun little moment for the franchise fans where we wink back at ourselves. I’m not going to take the full responsibility for it, but I was very involved.

Why Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Takes A Meta Jab At Beverly Hills Cop III

It’s Widely Considered The Weakest In The Series

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F insults Beverly Hills Cop III since it is widely considered the weakest in the series, even by Murphy himself. Released in 1994, the third film was written by Steven E. de Souza and directed by John Landis, who had collaborated earlier with Murphy on Trading Places and Coming to America. However, despite being set in the amusement park Wonder World, the third film was panned by critics for failing to have any fun, offering dull action, unfunny jokes, and an unusually lackluster performance from Murphy further detracting from the film.

Beverly Hills Cop III is even considered the weakest in the series by Murphy himself. In a 2015 interview, Murphy called the third movie “garbage.” Beverly Hills Cop III was also the least seen of the series, making under $120 million at the box office, compared to $234 million and nearly $300 million for the first two films, respectively. Beverly Hills Cop III was also the first film in the series not to feature the involvement of star producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, the latter of which, along with Molloy, admits to never seeing it.

Since the third film performed so poorly critically and commercially, it served as the perfect fodder for a meta-joke in the fourth film. Considering how badly Axel Foley’s last outing went, it would have almost been awkward for the fourth film not to acknowledge it in some way. Even better, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is being received much better than the previous movie, with its 65% Rotten Tomatoes score beating out the last two entries combined.

Source: THR