In the explosive follow-up Beverly Hills Cop II (released in theaters on May 20, 1987), Detroit detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) finds himself drawn back to the palm-lined streets of Southern California after his friend and mentor, Captain Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox), is critically wounded in a professional assassination attempt.
The shooting is linked to the mysterious “Alphabet Crimes,” a series of high-profile robberies leaving behind coded envelopes.
Axel reunites with his favorite Beverly Hills collaborators, the ever-earnest Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and the perpetually grumpy John Tarrant (John Ashton).
Together, they operate outside the jurisdiction of the new, incompetent police chief, Harold Lutz (Allen Garfield).
The investigation leads the trio to a sophisticated international arms-smuggling ring spearheaded by the ruthless Maxwell Dent (Jürgen Prochnow) and his enforcers Karla Fry (Brigitte Nielsen) and Charles Cain (Dean Stockwell).
Meanwhile back in Detroit, Foley’s buddy Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser) covers for him with his superior, Inspector Todd (Gil Hill).
Directed by Tony Scott, the film trades the gritty realism of the original for a slick, high-contrast aesthetic characterized by fast cars, heavy weaponry, and a booming synth-pop score.
The plot moves at a breakneck pace as Axel uses his signature wit and a series of outrageous disguises to infiltrate a shooting club and a high-stakes oil refinery.
The climax features a massive tactical assault on Dent’s desert warehouse, where the three detectives must prove that their unorthodox chemistry is enough to take down a paramilitary force.
Gilbert Gottfried, Paul Guilfoyle, Robert Ridgely, Robert Pastorelli, Tom ‘Tiny’ Lister, Frank Pesce, Tom Bower, Valerie Wildman, and Chris Rock round out the supporting cast.
Hugh Hefner appears in a cameo as himself.
This film followed Beverly Hills Cop and preceded Beverly Hills Cop III and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold in Beverly Hills Cop II (Photo/Paramount Pictures)
Reception for Beverly Hills Cop II
Beverly Hills Cop II grossed $33 million on its opening weekend, finishing No. 1 at the box office.
The film remained atop the box office for its first three weeks and in the top 10 for nine weeks on its way to grossing $153.7 million in its theatrical run.
Lasting Legacy
Beverly Hills Cop II‘s legacy is its perfection of the “slick-action” template that defined the late-1980s blockbuster era.
By pairing Murphy’s peak comedic improv with Scott’s hyper-stylized visual language, the film helped establish the high-energy, high-gloss tone that would dominate action cinema for a decade.
It is widely regarded as a quintessential example of the “Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer” production style—fast, loud, and undeniably cool.
While it leaned harder into the action than its predecessor, it maintained Murphy’s status as the world’s premier box-office draw.
