CINEMA: Eddie Who?

Beverly Hills Cop III spells trouble for its star

Eddie Murphy needs to shoot off his mouth. It's his best weapon, and the one that's unique to his arsenal. When a movie mostly requires him to shoot off a gun he becomes just another action star, and another talent wasted in lazily miscalculated material.

It has been almost a decade since Murphy appeared in a movie that correctly balanced cheekiness and car chases. As it happened, that was Beverly Hills Cop. Ever since, the comedian has been a loose cannon, rolling aimlessly around on ships variously listing and listless. Beverly Hills Cop II, Murphy's first reprise of Axel Foley, the...

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