1086. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton

Director: Martin Brest

Running Time: 105 mins

Beverly Hills Cop is an American film about a wise-cracking Detroit police officer who travels to glamorous Beverly Hills to investigate the death of a friend of his, and in the process, gets on the nerves of the disciplined local police department.

This is a hell of a lot of fun! With an energetic central performance by Eddie Murphy, a heap of great action throughout and entertaining comedy, this is a hugely enjoyable and endearing action-comedy. It may not have the most intelligent or unpredictable story, but there are enough laughs here to keep you loving it right the way through.

Let’s start with Eddie Murphy then. As always, he’s full of life, and that really helps to make his character, who is arguably a little annoying, all the more endearing and likeable. Thanks to his performance, you have no trouble whatsoever in supporting this guy all the way through, making for a thoroughly enjoyable watch.

What’s more is that the comedy here is excellent. It’s got all the hallmarks of slick 80s comedy movies, but this is also a hard R-rated film. It’s full of foul-mouthed language and darker humour alongside the slapstick, and that makes it a much more refreshing film to watch amidst the onslaught of lighter, nicer comedies that just don’t pack the same punch.

Next up, the action. Another problem that a lot of action comedies have is that, whilst there are explosions and car chases here and there, they’re not that fun to watch like a normal action movie. This, on the other hand, is full of brilliant action throughout, right from an insane chase sequence at the beginning to an epic shoot-out near the end, giving an extra bit of thrill to a genuinely funny film too.

The only issue with this is that its story is disappointingly predictable and generic. For all its successes in making good of its R rating, the plot here is not so great. It’s full of typical cop comedy tropes and bad guys with the gunshot accuracy of a sloth that make it a story that you’re never really excited by, and even though the action may give a little bit of a thrill, it’s still not enough to make this a more engrossing action-comedy.

Overall, though, this gets a 7.5, because it’s a really funny comedy with a brilliant central performance and cool action throughout, although its poor story brings it down just a tad.