10 Movies To Watch if You Like ‘Beverly Hills Cop Axel F’

Although 2024 has been a year filled with many major disappointments, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F proved itself worthy of continuing the legacy of its franchise. The original Beverly Hills Cop is one of the greatest action comedies of all time, and the sequel from director Tony Scott is a lot more entertaining than it’s often given credit for. While the disastrous Beverly Hills Cop III threatened to bring the franchise to an early conclusion, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is a proper legacy sequel that reminds the world why Eddie Murphy is one of the funniest actors on the planet.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F feels like the type of old-fashioned summer blockbuster that doesn’t get made anymore, which makes it all the more disappointing that it was only released on Netflix. However, fans of the film may enjoy watching some older films that contain many of the same qualities. From silly action comedies to witty and biting satires, these movies are perfect companions to Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.

10 ‘48 Hrs.’ (1982)

Directed by Walter Hill

Although it’s great to see Murphy return to the franchise he built his career on, it’s worth remembering that the original 1984 film was not the first time that he headlined an exciting action comedy. Shortly after making his debut on Saturday Night Live and touring as a stand-up, Murphy co-starred in the classic buddy cop movie 48 Hrs.alongside Nick Nolte.

The combination of Murphy’s wacky energy and Nolte’s seasoned gruffness resulted in a great clash of personalities. Like Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, 48 Hrs. perfectly balances its comedy and action, never leaning too hard in either direction. While some moments of genuine intensity turn the story into a more legitimate crime thriller, Murphy is so well-suited for giving one-liners that the film is routinely hilarious.

9 ‘Running Scared’ (1986)

Directed by Peter Hyams

The original Beverly Hills Cop inspired a new generation of buddy cop adventure movies, including Running Scared by director Peter Hyams. Nothing is more important in a buddy cop movie than having great chemistry between the stars, and the dynamic between Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines makes for an interesting twist on the typical action thriller. The two star as veteran Chicago cops who are tasked with tracking down a dangerous criminal.

Billy Crystal honors Eddie Murphy’s legacy by giving a surprisingly charismatic performance as
Running Scared
’s protagonist.

Like Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, the narrative throughline of Running Scared is less important than putting these two fun characters in different situations in which they get to bounce off one another. Murphy has certainly set a precedent with Beverly Hills Cop for comedians being taken seriously by action stars and Crystal honors that legacy by giving a surprisingly charismatic performance as the film’s protagonist.

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8 ‘Bowfinger’ (1999)

Directed by Frank Oz

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is a great reminder that Murphy has never waned in his abilities as a comedic star; while the 1980s were the peak of his career, Murphy had a major comeback when he teamed up with Steve Martin for the 1999 comedy Bowfinger. A satirical examination of Hollywood’s star-making process, Bowfinger offers a hilarious behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to make an action movie like Beverly Hills Cop.

Murphy is hilarious in Bowfinger because he gets to play multiple parts, transforming his physical appearance to play wildly different characters. While it would be hard for any co-star to match his unique energy, Martin is perfect at playing the straight man who is more or less forced to put up with his shenanigans as the film continues to get sillier.

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7 ‘Hot Fuzz’ (2007)

Directed by Edgar Wright

The Beverly Hills Cop franchise may have popularized the concept of the comedic police investigative thriller, but Edgar Wright reinvented the subgenre with his brilliant 2007 satire Hot Fuzz. Easily one of the funniest R-rated comedies ever made, Hot Fuzz is both a clever parody of classic blockbusters and a thrilling action film in its own right. Simon Pegg stars as a big city cop who has to relocate to a smaller neighborhood, only to discover that there is a criminal conspiracy.

Like Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Hot Fuzz succeeds because of the terrific chemistry between its co-stars. Pegg re-teams with his Shaun of the Dead co-star, Nick Frost, appearing as a far less intense cop who is nonetheless swept up in the mystery. The unusual odd couple chemistry the two share on-screen only makes the action feel even funnier.

6 ‘Premium Rush’ (2012)

Directed by David Koepp

Murphy is the star and the reason to see Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, but the film also features a terrific supporting performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as his new, younger partner. He may have broken out in romantic comedies like (500) Days of Summer and 10 Things I Hate About You, but Gordon-Levitt proved himself as an action star in the underrated thriller Premium Rush. He stars as a bike messenger who gets caught up in a criminal conspiracy involving a particularly intense corrupt cop (Michael Shannon).

Like Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Premium Rush succeeds as an action thriller because it shows the chaos that comes with pulling off heist sequences in the midst of a packed metropolitan area. Although it’s hard to rival the great helicopter scenes in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, there are a few amazing bike chases in Premium Rush that give them a run for their money.

5 ‘21 Jump Street’ (2012)

Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F proves that nostalgia isn’t necessarily a bad thing if a film can deliver on the promise of its source material and do enough things differently to differentiate itself. 21 Jump Street is easily one of the boldest and most surprising franchise reboots of all time. While the original was a more grounded television drama, the reboot from directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller is a satire aimed at exposing the common cliches in Hollywood action films.

The excellent chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum results in a hilarious buddy duo because of how different they are. While Lord and Miller are unsparing in their satire of studio meddling, there’s a surprising amount of sweetness in 21 Jump Street that elevates it above other studio comedies in recent memory.

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4 ‘2 Guns’ (2013)

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur

The classic “buddy cop” formula seemed to fall out of fashion in Hollywood in the last ten years, as studios seemed more intent on making superhero movies set up to build continuing cinematic universes. However, 2 Gunswas a great throwback to classic buddy cop movies that wasn’t afraid to hit all the familiar notes. Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington star as two rival cops forced to work together to end a villainous plot.

It was interesting to see actors like Wahlberg and Washington, who are best known for their more dramatic projects, do something as silly and irreverent as 2 Guns. The film is a lot more entertaining and surprisingly thrilling than it has any right to be. Indeed, ir’s actually a little disappointing that it was not a significant enough success to spawn multiple sequels.

3 ‘The Nice Guys’ (2016)

Directed by Shane Black

While Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F honors the legacy of a franchise that changed action-comedies forever, The Nice Guys instantly proved itself a worthy addition to the all-time canon of great buddy cop movies. The brilliant script from veteran action screenwriter Shane Black stars Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as a pair of idiosyncratic private investigators who join forces to solve a crime relating to the disappearance of an adult film actress.

The sheer quantity of jokes in The Nice Guys elevates it above most comedies of its generation, and the chemistry between Crowe and Gosling is simply uproarious. The 1970s setting, fun soundtrack, and refreshingly cynical attitude create a film that subverts expectations in all the best ways. While it sadly did not do well in its initial theatrical release, rumors persist that The Nice Guys will receive a sequel with the original team returning.

2 ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)

Directed by Joseph Kosinski

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F cracks the formula of making a successful “legacy sequel,” serving as an homage to the franchise’s highlights while helping introduce it to a younger fanbase that gets to experience the magic for the first time. There aren’t many legacy sequels that have been more successful than Top Gun: Maverick, which sees Tom Cruise reprising his role as Pete Mitchell from the 1986 classic.

Top Gun: Maverick is gleefully unpretentious and completely willing to pull on the audience’s heartstrings by bringing back classic characters for touching cameos. However, nostalgia isn’t the only reason why Top Gun: Maverick grossed over $1 billion and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture: it also happens to feature some of the most incredible sequences of aerial combat and chases ever seen on the silver screen.

1 ‘Bad Boys: Ride of Die’ (2024)

Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F isn’t the only buddy cop legacy sequel in 2024 that gives fans exactly what they want because Bad Boys: Ride or Die is a terrific new entry in the Bad Boys franchise. While certainly sticking to a familiar formula to anyone who had seen the previous entries in the series, there’s little reason to complain when Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are still so much fun to watch on screen together.

Both Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and Bad Boys: Ride of Die succeed because they acknowledge their protagonists’ ages, thus taking pride in the longevity of their respective franchises. The subsequent box office success of Bad Boys: Ride or Die indicates that the audience of action movie fans enjoy seeing these characters grow and evolve as the series continues.

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