‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ Director Drew on Franchise Iconography — and ‘80s Action Filmmaking — for His Next-Generation Sequel: ‘We Wrecked a Million Cars’

variety.com:

Todd Gilchrist editor First released in 1984, Martin Brest’s “Beverly Hills Cop” was one of the defining movies of its decade, and a huge stepping stone (along with “48 Hrs.” and “Trading Places”) toward stardom for Eddie Murphy.

It not only spawned two sequels over the next decade, but set a template for action comedies that persists today. “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” marks the overdue fourth installment in the franchise and introduces with it a director to watch: Mark Molloy.

After beginning his career as a director of commercials for brands like Nike, Google and Apple, Molloy makes his feature debut with “Axel F,” which drew heavily from the first two “Beverly Hills Cop” films while pushing forward the story of its eponymous detective, now father to an equally-driven but estranged daughter (played by “Zola” breakout Taylour Paige).

While Netflix commemorates the 40th anniversary of Brest’s original with this sequel, Molloy spoke with Variety about how he sought inspiration from 1980s cinema, action-oriented and otherwise, to create the new film’s larger-than-life set pieces, and how the Beverly Hills he saw in that venerated first film set the stage for him to launch his feature directorial career. The movie plays both Bob Seger’s “Shakedown” and Glenn Frey’s “The Heat Is On” in the first two minutes.