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

Film Rating: C-
DVD Special Features: C

The writers had seven years to come up with another script for the "Beverly
Hills Cop" franchise and this was the best they could do?  It blows my mind
that they spent 50 million dollars on this.  Where did it go?  The theme
park?  Whatever heat the second film managed to keep is nowhere to be found in this third outing.

Not even bothering to return to Detroit to shoot any footage, the film
nevertheless supposedly opens there with Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) about to raid an illegal chop shop.  Some untimely visitors arrive before the Police do and shoot the place up, but before they can leave with what they came for, Foley comes knocking on their door.  A shootout ensues and the film's villain, Ellis De Wald (Timothy Carhart), guns down Foley's boss, once again played by Gil Hill.  Axel gives chase, only he's stopped short by the FBI who want De Wald to escape.

Several clues point to an amusement park in southern California called
"Wonderworld" and it isn't long before Foley is on a plane and knocking on
Rosewood's (Judge Reinhold) door at the Beverly Hills Police Department.  
Taggart (John Ashton) is supposedly retired and living in another state, but
considering that the group has remained good friends, one would think that it
wouldn't come as such a shock to Foley.  Ashton apparently had to pull out at
the last minute and his presence is sorely missed in this film.  Also gone is
Bogomil (Ronny Cox) without a trace or dropping of his name.  Only Reinhold
and Bronson Pinchot as the flamboyant "Serge" return with Murphy from the
first two sequels.

Foley and Rosewood are joined by Detective Jon Flint (Hector Elizondo) in
trying to find out what is really going at Wonderworld.  Unfortunately, Flint
is looking forward to working at Wonderworld when he retires, so he's less
than enthusiastic in believing Foley that De Wald, the head of security at
the park, is responsible for anything illegal.  This is probably supposed to
provide some tension in the film, but it doesn't.  Actually, the film is an
exercise in providing moments of heroism for Foley while also giving him
plenty of opportunities for shootouts.  What does it all amount to?  Very
little.  Like the amusement park, so much of this film is made of fancy and
comes across as fake.  The oh-so-daring Ferris wheel rescue has got to be one of the worst blue screen or rear projection effects I've seen in a long time,
even for back then.

"Beverly Hills Cop III" suffers from poor plotting, awful character
development, outrageous situations and a general lack of excitement.  The
action sequences come off as so mechanical that they're hardly gripping at
all.  While it was nice of the writers to let Judge Reinhold's character rise
in the ranks, he's become a power hungry moron.  Timothy Carhart plays the
villain with a smug intensity that really makes him stand out, so it's a
shame that his character's motivation was nothing more than counterfeit
money.  Hector Elizondo knew he was filling in for John Ashton, but was
really shortchanged in begin given a part that had no real bearing on the
plot.  He deserved better.  Even all the cameos that Director John Landis
throws in (like George Lucas) can't save this film.  The one thing "Beverly
Hills Cop III" has going for it is Eddie Murphy and there's only so much he
can do.

Paramount has released this film in what is probably the best Widescreen
transfer of the three movies.  I didn't notice as much grain or other
imperfections as I had on the other discs.  The sound is fine and there's a
French stereo track included along with English subtitles.  Why?  I don't
have a clue, but I'm still wondering why there aren't any French subtitles.  
As for extras, there's a 22 minute "New Exclusive Cast And Crew Interviews"
documentary.  It appears that everybody working on the film had high hopes
for it, but trouble with so many different script ideas being thrown around
over the years appears to have clouded any good ideas that might have
originally been there.  It's a real shame because this could have reenergized
the franchise instead of killing it.  Topping off the extras list is a
theatrical trailer and that's it.

John Landis made an action movie here, but one that could have starred other
people and nobody would have ever guessed that it was a "Beverly Hills Cop"
feature.  I'm not sure if the blame lies with him or with the writers or with
both.  The chemistry is gone, the laughs are few and the action is downright
boring.  The heat was on.  What happened to it?

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