Pointless action tosh

Beverly Hills Cop III is the weakest link in the Beverly Hills Cop series thus far. The wait between the second and third films is amazing...as this film hit cinemas 7 years after the second film was released. Apparently they just had trouble getting a story together. Amazingly, after all that heavy development, the plot doesn't make a lick of sense. They seemingly decided on a story which is more convoluted than that of the second film. Even more tragically, the film succumbs to far more clichés and a formulaic plot structure.

It's also obvious that there was trouble getting a cast together. Unfortunately, John Ashton is missing from the cast! His seminal interactions with Judge Reinhold were utterly priceless. Ashton must have read how appalling the script turned out to be...and opted to give this one a miss. What a smart move on his part! John Landis now tackles the duties as director. The director of Trading Places and The Blues Brothers seems very out of place in a Beverly Hills Cop instalment. The laughs are made subordinate to the action. Considering the general quality of the gags, this isn't a bad move. But the action scenes are far too violent it seems. It just doesn't fit in with the light-hearted comedy tone that was established in the first movie released a decade prior. Also in the film you'll find a love interest (*sigh*) and a stupid plot. In short - this is utter tosh!

The thin story once again follows the continuing adventures of Detroit police detective Axel Foley (Murphy). After the tragic death of one of his good friends, Axel vows revenge and begins his own investigation into the murder. Does anyone else get a sense of déjà vu in relation to the first movie? This third film is nothing more than a rehash of the plot of the original with a few new characters and plot twists. Anyway, Axel uncovers evidence that relates back to the Wonderland amusement park in California (an obvious satire of Disneyland, of course). Axel teams up with Rosewood (Reinhold) and another cop that is essentially the replacement for John Ashton's memorable character. While solving the crime, some convoluted plot unfolds in relation to counterfeiting money or something. I have no idea how that could warrant an all-out gun battle with the security guards at the theme parks! I mean, if it was a drama then it'd be sorted out with a legal battle. If it was an actual Beverly Hills Cop movie I'd expect some sneaky investigating similar like Axel's investigating in the first movie. But the genre is now all-out action like some pointless Stallone vehicle (in case you weren't aware, Sylvester Stallone was originally cast as Axel Foley)...so problems are solved using violence and gun battles. There never seems to be much point at all for any of it. Once again, just a thin plot created for the action.

New director John Landis makes this instalment more of a sequel to The Blues Brothers rather than a Beverly Hills Cop movie. The car chases are impressive and exciting; however there is never any point! Like I stated before, the humour is extremely thin. However some of the film's strongest moments lie in surprise return of the beloved Bronson Pinchot as Serge. Once again this character is criminally underutilised. His scenes are simply hysterical. Eddie Murphy is in top form: shooting, wise-cracking and grinning. It's obvious that all the returning cast members have aged...and they haven't aged gracefully. Judge Reinhold is now a Rambo wannabe as he blasts away villains without a second thought. What happened to his initial tactics of instead attempting an arrest?

Beverly Hills Cop III is loud, noisy, incoherent and pointless. The script forgets to include credibility and class...instead there are plenty of corny situations, pathetically written dialogue and a non-existent plot. On a positive note, the soundtrack is still impressive and adds something exciting to the otherwise incompetently-directed action scenes. The film rehashes pretty much every idea that featured during Foley's first two outings (avenging the death of a friend, two up-tight sidekicks, etc)...and manages to be boring as well as making no sense whatsoever.

4.2/10