Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024) review

Thirty years have passed since Beverly Hills Cop III (good ol' '94!) and detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) once again has to leave his beloved snowy Detroit and travel to California when he finds out his only daughter Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige), a defense attorney that's friends with Axel's former partner Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), is in extreme danger because of the work she's been doing ... and that high-ranking police officer Grant (Kevin Bacon) might be not so "clean."  There's some Gen X pandering going on by bringing out songs from the original soundtrack ("The Heat Is On" by Glenn Frey and "Shakedown" by Bob Seger) and dragging back familiar characters (Reinhold, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot), but the bargain-basement script could have used a massive overhaul (an SD card? in 2024?) and there's no trace of the zip and sass that worked so well in the first movie (where are the trademark Murphy quips?): it's like a farewell reunion tour for a band you thought vanished into the night without anyone noticing.  To its credit, the newer supporting cast members - especially Paige and her ex-boyfriend Bobby (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who's also a detective - do add a bit of charm ... to go along with the expected "commentary" about how nearly everyone in Los Angeles is conceited and everything's (still) too dang expensive.