Review of Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) by ♪♪♪Sweet♪♪♪ & — 04 Jan 2009

Almost hypnotically bad, like a car crash you can't look away from - just a big shame after the first two efforts. Action has displaced charm and character comedy, but the action is so poorly conceived, directed and edited that this sequel seems more dated than the original, a decade before.

The only good stuntwork - on the spider ride - is wasted by atrocious lensing and editing. The amusement park setting is ripe with action potential, yet squandered by dull 80s gunplay excess. Compared to Brest and Scott, Landis has no energy or inventiveness in concept or camera moves.

Murphy, Reinhold and especially Pinchot as Serge have their moments, but it's clear the party is over with this dud of a script. The most bizarrely bad moment (and there are several) has Axel Foley pass a couple of cops in a busy hospital, before they get a APB call which simply needs to say "African American" for the cops to chase him.