Hitting Netflix on July 3, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F was a smash hit that reunited Eddie Murphy’s titular character with his longtime pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton). Along the way, he hooks up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Detective Bobby Abbott to unravel a vast conspiracy, which at one point sees them steal a helicopter. It was a high-octane scene that utilized both practical effects and CGI, but veteran pilot Fred North said that director Mark Molloy wasn’t too impressed with the stunt, until he decided to come along for the ride.
Appearing in a new video with Corridor Crew (seen below), North broke down the helicopter scene in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F with hosts Niko and Wren. It starts off with Murphy and Gordon-Levitt commandeering the helicopter from the roof of the BHPD, and – after flying through the streets of Beverly Hills – ends with them crashing on a golf course. North said that when he first practiced the stunt, Molloy was observing things from the ground.
“So, before doing it for real, I did practice on an empty field in the desert. What happened is the director, Mark Molloy, when I did the first one, he said ‘Fred, is that it?’ And so, he was like, ‘Is that all you got?’ I mean, he’s fantastic, but he was on the ground, and I said ‘You know Mark, I think the best would be if you came with us, and then you’re going to see,’ because to me, that’s something you want to shoot from the helicopter from inside.”
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Even though he’s not a director, North has been doing helicopter stunts long enough to rack up over 200 credits to his name. In this case, his instincts once again proved correct, because when Molloy decided to join him on the practice run, he quickly changed his tune, and decided to follow North’s advice by inserting shots from inside the helicopter into the final scene.
“So, he came with us, and I did it, then he said ‘Fu*k me!’ You know, that’s why they used another shot from them. It changes the perspective of the scariness of the whole thing when, from the inside, I thought they did a pretty good job of the CG takeover, because it obviously didn’t actually crash. So, we all agreed with Mark to do everything for real.”
Will There Be a Beverly Hills Cop 5?
Rising to the top of the Netflix charts quickly after its premiere, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F garnered an impressive 41 million views in its first five days, and an additional 22.2 million during its second week. With numbers like that, it only makes sense that Murphy and producer Jerry Bruckhemier would want to continue the saga, but as of right now, nothing’s been confirmed.
That being said, Murphy did tell Variety earlier this year that another sequel is in the works, with Bruckheimer adding that they do “have a couple of stories in mind.” Everything is clearly in the very early stages of development, so it’s too soon to say if it will be given the green light, but at least the pair are remaining optimistic on the future of the franchise. While it would be sad to see it end, even if nothing comes to fruition, at least we can take comfort in knowing that Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F made up for the disaster that was Beverly Hills Cop 3, thus concluding the series on a high note.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley is the fourth film in the popular comedy franchise starring Eddie Murphy. Murphy returns as Axel Foley in the Netflix film alongside returning cast members Judge Reinhold and John Ashton and Bronson Pinchot as Serge. Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt also star in the sequel as new characters.
- Release Date
- July 3, 2024
- Director
- Mark Molloy