DVD Review: Beverly Hills Cop II
Written by: Kage Alan

Film Rating: B
DVD Special Features: B

     The heat's back on, but it's not quite as sizzling as it was the first time
around.  "Beverly Hills Cop II" cleaned up at the box office and made a heck
of a lot of money, only not as much as the first film.  I remember walking
out of the theatre completely disappointed and never even bothering to rent
it when it came out on video.  It's not that "Cop II" is a bad movie because
it's technically very good.  I think it's because I was hard pressed to find
the charm and freshness of the first film here.

When Captain Bogomil (Ronny Cox) is gunned down in broad daylight, Detroit Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) immediately flies to Beverly Hills to join forces with Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Taggart (John Ashton) to track down the would-be assassins.  It's somehow all connected to a series of
alphabet crimes that Bogomil was trying to crack the code for, but was never
able to finish.  With very few leads, no cooperation from the Police
Department and time running out before the next crime, the trio use
everything within their means to figure out where the next hit will be and
who's ultimately behind it and why.  

It was great to see most of the cast members back from the original reprising
their roles in "Cop II," but some of the ones who don't appear again are
sorely missed.  They're mostly smaller roles from the first, like Lisa E
libacher as Axel's old friend from back home, Art Kimbro and Joel Bailey as
two other detectives under Bogomil's command, Stephen Elliott as the Chief
and the unforgettable Bronson Pinchot, only they added something to the
overall mix.  At least Gil Hill and Paul Reiser came back for extended
cameos.  The villains this time around are played by the always fantastic
Jürgen Prochnow and ultra tall vixen Brigitte Nielsen who do the best they
can to make their roles watchable, especially considering how underwritten
the villains tend to be in these kinds of movies.

It's the humor and chemistry between the three principal actors that
ultimately saves this movie from disaster, though.  Director Tony Scott,
fresh off of "Top Gun," originally passed up making the first film because
comedy didn't appeal to him.  He directs action movies, not comedies.  Due to
the success of the first film, though, this must have seemed like a sure
thing.  Whereas "Beverly Hills Cop" was shot with regular blue skylines and
nice airy open sets that looked like everyday life, Scott loves to fill "Cop
II" with lots of harsh orange and dark colors.  It's slick, it's sleek and it
doesn't belong in this movie, though it does give us a glimpse of what the
majority of Jerry Bruckheimer produced films will all look like one day.  
There is so much emphasis on the look of the film that it takes away from the
actors and that's just wrong.  Tony Scott should have stayed far away from
this series.

Adding insult to injury, the script takes the believability factor of the
first film and replaces it with a ridiculously over-the-top abusive Chief
Lutz (Allen Garfield), his inept assistant and a mayor who can't be bothered
to stick around at a huge weapons raid because he has a luncheon to go to for
the homeless in Beverly Hills.  WHAT???  Take that and throw in a token
daughter for Bogomil who can cry, aim a gun and just happen to give Axel some necessary insurance information and you'll be shaking your head for hours. Like I said before, if not for the three main actors reprising their roles,
this would have been a total waste.

Though the picture quality on this disc is better than on the first one, the
Widescreen transfer still looks a little too dark and grainy at times.  I
couldn't detect any problems with the audio and there's also a French track
thrown in for good measure as well as English subtitles.  It just occurred to
me that if Paramount is going to put a French language track on here, why
aren't they also including French subtitles?  It's a mystery.

Extras on the disc aren't as extensive as on the first, but we are given a 29
minute "New and Exclusive Cast and Crew Interviews" segment.  It really
shines when the cast members talk about being reunited and how much they all
contributed during their scenes, especially with what wasn't on the scripted
page.  Unfortunately, the segments with Tony Scott only confirm that he
wasn't up for a comedy and it was style over substance here.  What a shame
because they really could have made this film something special instead of
just a sequel.

There's also a 9 minute "Original Behind-The-Scenes Featurette" that the
studio put together during the original filming.  It's actually a lot less
fluff than I'd expected and was rather enjoyable.  It's just a series of
interviews mixed in with footage they'd already shot, but it's a nice glimpse
into a film in the making.  Next up is a deleted scene of the famous walking
through laser sensors that can be glimpsed during the theatrical trailer.  
Tony Scott has recorded an introduction for it and explains why it was
removed from the film while Judge Reinhold offers a few comments after the
scene is over.  Unfortunately, the deleted scene is poor quality and not
presented in the Widescreen ratio.

The theatrical trailer is included as well as another short titled
"'Shakedown' Music Featurette." This might initially be a little misleading
because it's 5 minutes on how the song was mixed, not the actual video itself
and nothing to do with Bob Seger.  To be honest, I'm not sure why it's even
on here except to show footage of composer/songwriter Harold Faltermeyer who was absent on the "Beverly Hills Cop Special Edition."

"Beverly Hills Cop II" is really a mixed bag.  On one hand, we're getting
what we want by reuniting most of the cast from the first film and giving
them a new adventure.  We're also getting some great humor from Eddie Murphy and the man is a master comic.  Unfortunately, so much of the story is
unbelievable and it's shot in such a way that the comedy and action
ultimately clash in the worst way possible that I still end up disappointed.  
"Cop II" isn't a bad movie, just not a well thought out and executed one.

Kage holds degrees in Creative Writing, as well as Film & Video. He has been featured in a Life Journey Tele-Course, published poems in several national anthologies, been a contributor to The Third Coast Magazine and written several novels. kage@modamag.com >>Previous Page