Axel F

Top 3 looming belated 80's movie sequels I'd like to be good: Ghostbusters III, Tron 2 (or whatever the f--- they're calling it), and finally, Beverly Hills Cop IV.

I have my doubts about GBIII, because they're doing some passing-of-the-torch thing, and because Ghostbusters II has so many flaws, but I've been waiting for that movie since I was 5 and I really will take whatever I can get, for better or worse. Plus, there's always the video game, which seems at least reasonably entertaining (although I'm hedging my bets there too). Tron 2 looks like it's on the right track, although I'm still waiting for a high-res version of that awesome Comic-Con video Disney debuted as a surprise after the Witch Mountain and Bolt panels at Comic-Con 2008.

But then there's Beverly Hills Cop. As far as I'm concerned, the original Beverly Hills Cop, frankly, is one of the best movies of the 1980's. It's funny and thrilling in equal weight and measure, features one of Eddie Murphy's best performances as both an actor and a comedian, and he's got great chemistry with all of his co-stars -- none of which are played by Murphy in make-up. I thought Beverly Hills Cop II was an oddly-toned misfire that seems too slick, and dark, and is overwhelmed by a humid 80's heat that suffocates the movie into datedness, and the third film is easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen -- just absolutely, completely execrable, and I love John Landis (although, and I'm going to get mobbed for this, I think Coming to America is overrated, overlong, unfunny garbage. I prefer Trading Places ten-to-one).

Yet despite mega-tool Brett Ratner in the director's chair and Eddie Murphy's career on a seemingly endless slide into Hell (see the trailer for Imagine That, the movie Murphy's opening this week -- which, coincidentally, also features Murphy's BHC co-star Ronny Cox...or, better yet, don't), this Moviehole article gives me some renewed hope. Early talks have suggested Judge Reinhold's Billy Rosewood might bite the dust, which I'm strongly against, because it would make Beverly Hills Cop IV another one-man Murphy show, but I don't know if the Haas/Brandt script is the one that kills the character, or if that twist will ultimately make it to the screen.

Either way, I wanted to counter my pessimistic Expendables piece with a positive one, and I want to see a Beverly Hills Cop besides the original that doesn't suck. Can we do that, Hollywood? Please?