I Watch Films: Beverly Hills Cop III

 

Beverly Hills Cop III

In Detroit detective Axel Foley is about to raid a car-theft ring’s chop shop, a garage where they strip cars for parts or alter them so they can plausibly appear legitimate. Four men arrive to receive a truck that has been stolen to order, filled with US Government boxes. They then shoot the car thieves. Foley enters, expecting to take a group of car mechanics by surprise, he and his team are attacked by the heavily armed men. His boss, Inspector Todd is shot and killed. The men escape in the truck. Foley follows; he’s intercepted by Secret Service agent Steve Fulbright who tells him to stay off the case as they’re tracking them men.

Foley does not stay off the case; there are clues that point to Wonder World a theme park in Beverly Hills. He goes to Beverly Hills and meets his old friend Billy Rosewood, now with a co-ordinating role between the many law enforcement organisations in and around Los Angeles, and his partner Billy Flint. Flint calls Ellis DeWald, head of security at Wonder World, but Foley isn’t on the list and buys a ticker, then sneaks backstage where he meets Janice Perkins, who runs some of the park machinery.

Discovering Foley, security attacks him; he escapes onto the Spider ride. This breaks down when the security guards try to sop it to get him, leading to Foley having to rescue some children. Flint and Rosewood arrive along with DeWald. Foley recognises DeWald as one of the four men in Detroit, but as is traditional in these films no one believes him as DeWald is beyond reproach.

Foley is visited by Janice and “Uncle Dave”, children’s TV presenter and the founder of Wonder World. The park’s designer, Uncle Dave’s friend, vanished two weeks ago, leaving a cryptic message. Foley confronts DeWald at a presentation where DeWald is being honoured as Private Law Enforcement Officer Of The Year but learns nothing.

Axel sneaks back in to Wonder World, investigating the closed off section. There he discovers a counterfeiting ring; they are using US treasury paper to print money. By the time he’s able to get Flint and Rosewood there they’ve covered it up, and Fulbright appears and tells Axel to get off the case. Axel reports back to Uncle Dave, realises the cryptic note from the designer is on money paper. However Uncle Dave is shot and Axel framed; he returns to Wonder World to prove his innocence is a giant gunfight.

What if Beverley Hills Cop was Die Hard in a funfair? This film takes a turn towards the comedic, pushing the boundaries beyond the normal absurdity of life, crime and policing. In part this is the nature of setting it in a theme park, but it leaks out into the rest of the world. A couple of returning characters become caricatures of themselves. A slightly disappointing third entry to the series.

Watch This: Fun action thriller with some good setpieces
Don’t Watch This: Changes the comedy from enjoying Axel outwit posh people to absurd mascot and theme park stunts