Murphy seems to prefer it that way, showing genuine affection for the series that harnessed his hotshot energy to cop action formula. The Murphy secret sauce that fired the first two "Cop" hits may be gone, but the memory lingers on. And that just might be enough.
We pick up with Axel as his Detroit PD boss (Paul Reiser) plans retirement after watching Axel, now a lieutenant but still runnin' and gunnin', pursue a bad guy through downtown traffic in an explosion of vehicular destruction. Hearing the original "Cop" theme accelerate this carmageddon is a major bonus.
Axel jets off to L.A. when he learns from his ex-partner Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold ) that his estranged daughter Jane (Taylour Paige), a glamorous, no-bull Beverly Hills attorney, has nearly been killed by a drug cartel for defending a dude it wants dead.
Enter another "Cop" vet, John Ashton as BHPD honcho John Taggart. To see Murphy, Reinhold and Ashton mix it up again, is fine fan service. Though they've all gotten thicker around the middle, their comic timing is still aces. Debuting director Mark Molloy says he gave Murphy and his buds plenty of room to improvise. Smart move since the script is a big nothing.
Joining Paige (so good in "Zola") among the newbies are the reliably appealing Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Detective Bobby Abbott, Jane's ex-boyfriend (he still loves her) who becomes Axel's new partner, and Kevin Bacon oozing sleaze as Captain Cade Grant, a top cop on the take.
Except for turning Axel into a devoted daddy who must finally learn to accept parental responsibility for his 32-year-old daughter, the fourth chapter in the life of Axel F is mostly juggling cliches. And that includes chases on foot, wheels and chopper. The blades of that whirlybird in traffic, shot in-camera without CGI, really get the blood pumping.
