Posted 6:00 AM by Gerald So
Just shy of 50, I've enjoyed my share of Eddie Murphy movies. I was hyped for COMING 2 AMERICA, but when it premiered, I didn't watch it. I still haven't. I like the original so much I don't think it needs a sequel. Sequels replay the hits, bring back storied characters. banking on the nostalgia of people my age. Without exception, the originals are superior. I really don't need to watch sequels. If I want to replay the hits, I can literally replay the originals.
Now that you know my perspective, I did just fire up Netflix and watch BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F. I liked it fine. It did all of the above, as well as adding a thoughtfulness you expect as you age. There are no sour notes. The familiar players hit their shots, and the new ones come to play.
Indeed it's like watching a championship team reconfigure slightly and win another championship. How excited and invested can you get if you've seen it happen before? By contrast, rewatching an original reminds you of before you'd seen as much, and because you hadn't seen as much, your enjoyment, surprise, and excitement were truly fresh.
A fifth Beverly Hills Cop is in the works, and I'm sure they can do a good job with it. They have a successful formula they've repeated and can repeat again.
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