Review(s): DVD Beverly Hills Cop - The Complete Line Up
Great Box Set
When I review movies, especially in box sets, I assume readers are looking over reviews to find information about the bonus material and overall "gift set" quality rather than the actual movie. This might be assuming too much, but I believe people will be reading reviews of movies they have seen and would like to purchase.
I have two main issues with some box sets. Some companies like to use a cardboard or heavy paper case to house each DVD in a box set. These cases are also used for individual DVDs by some, but they are not as sturdy as the plastic cases. The other issue is about the bonus material or edition. Many box sets are simply a grouping of movies in a series that are placed in a box. Some box sets are not comprised of special editions of the movies, and some don't even have any special material.
This Beverly Hills Cop box set comes complete with all the items I look for in a quality box set.
The DVDs are housed in the durable plastic, not cardboard, cases.
Each of the three movies is the Special Collector's Edition which comes complete with many special features.
Great first two bogged down by a truly horrendous third
Beverly Hills Cop is a timeless classic.
By having a pretty good plot, light humor and some originality here and there, this film has become a well-deserved classic. So obviously it was made before Eddie Murphy's ego got the better of him and before he sold himself out to family audiences.
Eddie plays the brilliantly named Axel Foley, a fast-talking renegade Detroit cop. After blundering a cigarette truck set up he travels to Beverly Hills in his crappy, sky-blue, banged up Chevy Nova to solve the murder of his best friend. Very much out of place, he has to solve this mystery on his own as the 'by the book' Beverly Hills Cops don't take him seriously.
There is no macho crap here. No love interest and no other sleazy junk you find in most cop thrillers. By sticking to what it wants to do (walking thru the plot making jokes) it succeeds as a comedy and a thriller. Harold Faltermyer's 80's music doesn't date the film one tiny little bit. 5/5
Beverly Hills Cop II is my fave.
Up to scratch in all areas apart from the editing. I'll get to that later. This one sees Axel head back to Beverly Hills after a 3-year gap to solve the Alphabet crimes. The film is more violent than the original and is truer to the Simpson/Bruckhiemer films that followed.
When you compare this movie to more recent flicks like Con Air or Man on Fire or Black Hawk Down you can see a definite resemblance in style. These movies have very fast editing to heighten the action. Obviously the editors practised on this movie as the editing is very bad and there are many continuity mistakes.
It doesn't retread the same ground either. The first summed up what Beverly Hills was like in the early 80's but this one shows us the world indulgent Americans live in when they have more money than they can spend. As Axel says 'These rich people loose their minds and want to live in a donut', when describing to a building foreman that there are not supposed to be any right angles in the house he is about to 'steal'. The music has improved a bit too. Even if some of it is a direct rip-off of the music in John Carpenter's Escape From New York. It's a shame the music (not songs) from these films is not available on soundtrack.
Give Beverly Hills Cop 2 a chance and don't listen to the narrow-minded critics who panned this film (18 years ago). 5/5
Beverly Hills Cop III is a disgrace.
And a monumental flop. Beverly Hills Cop 3 spent so much money and delivered practically nothing. We get a 1.85:1 screen, bland production design (in a theme park?) and out of place action on the rides. It should have had a wider screen and more eye-pleasing backgrounds if it wants to look good on screen. But it never happened. The tone is very different to the previous 2 films and has some totally pointless action and a weak plot.
Ronny Cox, John Ashton, Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckhiemer and Harold Faltermyer all bailed out of this film. Surely the director should have seen that as a sign. There isn't even a reason for Ronny Cox not being in this movie. At least they bothered to explain why John Ashton couldn't be bothered showing up (apparently his character retired to Arizona to play golf). Judge Reinhold is wasted and is given NO funny lines. Eddie Murphy acts like he's in a Die Hard movie and how the other characters can't figure out who the bad guy is just by looking at him is insulting to the audience's attention.
Millions of dollars were spent on this movie that came traipsing in 10 years after the original and 7 years after the sequel. I guess no one cared about Axel Foley anymore. As I have already said...the film bombed big time.
Bizarre Trivia: Sylvester Stallone was originally set to play Axel Foley in the first film but the script (that he wrote) was radically different and strongly resembled the script for Cobra, which he made a few years later. But Cobra (starring Beverly Hills Cop II actress Brigette Neilson) was apparantly based upon a novel by author Paula Gosling called Fair Game. This novel was later made into a movie of the same name (bearing absolutely NO resemblence to Cobra) and starring Beverly Hills Cop actor Steven Berkoff as the villain. A poster for Cobra also features in Beverly Hills Cop II.
Try getting your head around THAT insanity.
Great 5.1 Sound
Beverly Hills Cop I; II; and III.
I actually picked up each movie separately at bargain prices. Since there are plenty of reviews, I will keep this short. All three of the movies are great, with action and some laughs.
But, the best part is the transfer to DVD. The video transfer is excellent and the 5.1 sound is superior. There is excellent usage of the low bass and the surround speakers. All three movies are a definite purchase.
Related DVD's Beverly Hills Cop - The Complete Line Up
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