Beverly Hills Cop - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Beverly Hills Cop



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
FINALLY we get a 4K UHD release of some good old Beverly Hills Cop to enjoy! I was wondering WHY Paramount didn’t do that when they released the remastered Blu-ray Set back in January, but it looks like we didn’t have to wait long. Sadly we only get the first film and not the great 2nd (the 3rd can rot in a basement for all I care), but beggars can’t be choosers. Especially when the 4K disc handily outclasses the already great looking remastered 1080p disc.

I’m going to say it straight out. As a movie, Beverly Hills Cop is nothing special. Yes, I said it. The movie itself is a rote and traditional comedy cop movie that has a paper thin plot, solid support actors, and just enough intelligence to make it reasonably fun. However, I still love the movie to death and that is all on the shoulders of Eddie Murphy himself. Eddie elevated Beverly Hills Cop to stardom through his charisma, unique laugh, and pure star power. He’s the man behind the mask, the man behind the box office, and back in 1984 he was just becoming a super star. Looking back on the film some 36 years later, I’m not sure this would have been the cult classic it is today WITHOUT Eddie Murphy. Kind of like how Bad Boys would be just another Michael Bay action movie if it wasn’t for Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s chemistry and star power.

Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is your typical no nonsense movie cop. You know, the hot heat who does a great job of bringing in the criminals, but tends to off his superiors to no end due to his disobedience and flippant attitude. The rough and tough cop that doesn’t play by the rules, only his own. Well, his career is on the verge of collapse until he finds someone in his apartment. Turns out it’s an old friend of his named Mickey (James Russo) who’s fresh out of prison. Mickey’s been working out in Beverly Hills where he’s had a great job that’s led him to thousands of dollars worth of German bearer bonds, and wants to let Axel in on it. Only thing is, Mickey is murdered in Axel’s own apartment. Instead of being allowed to work the case, Axel is sidelined and told to lay low.

Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Axel decides to take some vacation days and heads out to Beverly Hills to do a bit of snooping. It doesn’t take long for Axel to get into hot water with the police chief of Beverly Hills (Ronny Cox), who puts a couple of cops on Axel’s tail to make sure he doesn’t get into trouble (played by Judge Reinhold and John Ashton). As you would expect, Axel isn’t going to play by their rules either, looping the rookie cops in on the case against their will and going full bore ahead to finding his buddy’s murderer.

Beverly Hills Cop is a movie that revels in disaster. Axel Foley is a one man 80s wrecking machine who just so happens to save the entire movie with his charisma and comic timing. The movie teeters on the ridiculous more than once, and there are times where you think the whole thing is going to fall apart, only to have Eddie Murphy just steal the scene. There’s some solid acting from the supporting villains, and yes, this is all pure 80s cheese, but Axel Foley is pure magic and you’re really watching this film for him. I’m actually not dogging on the movie as much as I’m pointing out it’s technical flaws. In fact it’s really the opposite. I’m marveling how Eddie Murphy’s star power saved this movie and actually made it a BLAST to watch, DESPITE these technical flaws. It’s one of the rare times where the actor really made the movie, and really elevated it WAY past where it should have been with any other person in the starring role.




Rating:

Rated R By the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

In January we got a massive improvement from the old Blu-ray with the new remaster, and this 4K UHD disc is most assuredly struck from that new 4K mastered used for the boxset release. When I reviewed that disc earlier in the year I was blown away with how great it looked, and once again I’m blown away. All the great things that happened in that disc are enhanced and made even greater here, with fine tuned colors, better grain structure, and overall much better clarity. The first thing you’ll notice is that the very VERY dark opening scene is handled much better on the 4K disc. The shadows almost looking milky in comparison when looking at the remastered Blu-ray. The black crush that was present is gone, and the much darker and inkier blacks (thanks to the judicious use of HDR) showcase better detail levels, as you can see clothing and backdrops much better.

The entire image is just sharper and cleaner, especially when you get to the daylight shots out in Beverly hills. The grain structure in the Blu-ray was great, but it seems more refined with a tighter structure and less noisy looking in 2160p. The outdoor shots have been tamed ever so slightly in the brightness department, but they actually make the image look better. The HDR makes the bright greens of the Hollywood bushes and the blue of Foley’s car literally pop off the screen, and the visual clarity is stunning. Check out the scene in the latter half of the film where Axel is trying to pick the lock to the mansion’s gate. The up close shot of Eddie’s hand and wallet are jaw dropping. All in all, this is a GREAT looking disc that handily outclasses the already great remastered Blu-ray. Well worth it.








Audio:

Sadly, the one thing that hasn’t been upgraded in this package is the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track that Paramount used for the original pressing of Beverly Hills Cop as well as the remastered Blu-ray in the boxset less than a year ago. It’s not a bad track per se, but it’s very uneven and not always perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Dialog is well placed and intelligible at all times, but volume raises and lowers at will, with crispness and clarity suffering the same fate. Some scenes are fantastic, with good low end, and sharp audio clarity. But then there are others where things get a bit muddled and soft. LFE is clean and punchy, but not overly abundant, and surrounds are moderately active. A decent track, but not an overly exuberant or powerful one.








Extras:

• Audio Commentary by director Martin Brest
• Beverly Hills Cop: The Phenomenon Begins
• A Glimpse Inside the Casting Process
• The Music of Beverly Hills Cop
• Deleted scenes
• Behind-the-scenes featurettes incorporating vintage 1984 interviews
• An isolated audio track of the original score by Harold Faltermeyer
• "BHC Mixtape '84", which allows viewers to go directly to the scenes featuring the hit songs "The Heat Is On," "Neutron Dance," "New Attitude," "Stir It Up," "Do You Really," and "Nasty Girl."
• Location Map
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

It’s nice that we FINALLY get Beverly Hills Cop in 4K, but I’m slightly disappointed that we didn’t get the 2nd film and the 3rd film in 4K UHD as well. I mean, they all three got remastered for the Blu-ray boxset back in January, why not put them all on 4K? Well, this is how it goes and I’m at least glad we get to have the best of the bunch in 4K (not really worried about the 3rd movie, it’s a painful experience anyways). The already good remastered Blu-ray is easily outclassed by the new 2160p disc here, and makes it the definitive release, albeit with the same weak audio mix that we’ve had for over a decade. Definitely a very fun watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher, Ronny Cox
Directed by: Martin Brest
Written by: Daniel Petrie Jr., Danilo Bach
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Music Score DD 5.1, French, German DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 116 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 1st, 2020

Recommendation: Very Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I enjoyed seeing this one back in the day. Will have to revisit this one.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Another classic! Glad to see this one land on 4K

 

[Epoxy1]

I've always loved Murphy's work and his perspective on life. His interview with Rolling stone about 8 or 9 years ago is an amazing look at his career and is very candid. I'd love to sit down and have a Diet Coke (he doesn't drink) with him someday--it would be a fun conversation!

 

[Michael Scott]

I've always loved Murphy's work and his perspective on life. His interview with Rolling stone about 8 or 9 years ago is an amazing look at his career and is very candid. I'd love to sit down and have a Diet Coke (he doesn't drink) with him someday--it would be a fun conversation!

Murphy in his prime was unstoppable. He was king of Comedy in ways that Richard Pryor even couldn't touch