Parents' Guide to Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

This fourth film in the popular '80s franchise, which fizzled out 30 years ago, brings memorable characters and elements into the present while attempting to iron out some now-obsolete attitudes. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F does what a sequel should do, incorporating what worked in the originals (and what fans of a certain age will be looking for) and updating aspects to better, though not perfectly, fit the times. This combo potentially sets the franchise on a course for a future. You see it in the renewal of older characters and the addition of new, younger ones, like Gordon-Levitt's Abbott and Paige's Jane. You hear it in the soundtrack, which runs from the Glenn Frey-Bob Seger sounds of the originals to Mary J. Blige and a Lil Nas X remix of the theme song. And, most essentially, you see the old-new blend in ideas, dialogues, and storylines.

It's not the '80s anymore, and even macho cops now can't let their manhood feel easily threatened. They try to respect women and recognize when therapy, an apology, or some tenderness might help their relationships. The fish-out-of-water concept of plopping Black Detroit cop Murphy into majority-White, upscale Beverly Hills still works, although even Beverly Hills has diversified some in the last 30 years. Be prepared for old-guy humor, unavoidable when you've got 60-plus-year-olds playing the leads of an action film, including some grumpy responses to changing social norms. The storyline gives the older characters, like Reiser's retiring Friedman and Ashton's ailing Taggart, reprised roles but also a believable out on potential future entries. The film also revisits the originals' mix of cameos, humor, and suspense (still requiring suspension of disbelief), though these aspects would earn bigger responses on the big screen.