Eddie Murphy returns as Axel Foley in 'Beverly Hills Cop III.'

Jet, June 13, 1994 by Aldore D. Collier

Almost seven years have passed since Eddie Murphy's character, Axel Foley, ripped up Beverly Hills in search of clues and criminals. Now, Detroit's finest detective has been turned loose again, causing headaches, car wrecks and turning tons of heads in the land of glitter in Beverly Hills Cop III.

Foley had been content busting up drug and car-stripping rings in Motown until the murder of a close friend and a series of clues about a criminal network put him back in Beverly Hills to seek his vengeance.

While in Beverly Hills, Foley teams up again with bungling cop Billy Rosewood, who finally has been promoted. Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), along with Jon Flint (Hector Elizondo) find themselves pulled into Foley's attempts to bust a huge criminal network.

Their efforts take them to a Disney-like theme park called Wonder World where a sinister group of criminals has set up shop. Foley is also assisted by a beautiful and smart park employee named Janice Perkins (Theresa Randle).

As was the case with the two previous Beverly Hills Cop movies, this one calls for Murphy to be a daredevil, swashbuckling type who is strong and quick-witted.

"Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop III is the most physically challenging role I've ever played," Murphy said. "In one sequence, some children are in danger. Axel rushes to their rescue and has to climb up a ride high in the air while the ride is spinning around. It was really high up, but some of the stunts with the fighting were even more dangerous. Sometimes a punch doesn't get pulled or somebody gets hit."

Murphy feels Cop III holds up well in comparison to the two predecessors. "It's better than the second one," he said. "But the first is always the best of anything, I think. It's definitely better than the second. It's a different kind of movie from the first one because Axel is older. I'm a man rather than a wisecracking rookie cop."

In Cop III, Murphy said he found out that he really does have fun doing action movies. "They are a lot more fun and easier to do than when your hair has to be right, your clothes have to be right, you got to be cool."

The original Beverly Hills Cop was and remains one of the highest grossing films of all time, pulling in more than $250 million. Since the release of that film in 1984, Murphy has been a box-office phenomenon, with a string of successful movies.

Along the way, he siad he has become a more focused performer. "A lot of artists do their best work when they first come out. Then, it's kind of not happening anymore. I think a lot of people lose focus because fame is a bright, glittery thing; it gets your focus off and your priorities change because of fame. I think I'm a much more focused artist than I was when I was doing Beverly Hills Cop I. When I did Cop I, I was 22 and I was the new sensation and all that stuff. Now, I'm more focused. I've looked at movies from early on in my career and I looked at stuff that I did four or five years ago and you can see when you're really focused and when you're not. Early on you want to do the best work and you want the people to see that all you care about is the work. So, you lock right on."

As Janice Perkins, Mrs. Randle, is the one with whom Axel has instant sexual chemistry. "Janice meets Axel on his first day at WonderWorld," she said. "There's an immediate attraction between them but they don't have time to think about that because of the mystery that must be solved." Ms. Randle, a native of Los Angeles, appeared in Sugar Hill, Malcolm X, Jungle Fever and The

Doing a third installment of a proven hit is a risky venture. However, Murphy and the rest of Hollywood realize that he has what many other actors don't have--a built-in audience of millions constantly attracted to his comedy.

"I try to be honest with my comedy and try to do things that I think are genuinely funny," he pointed out. "I try to be true to who I am. I don't think I've ever compromised who I am and I think I'm a funny guy. I think at the core of everything I'm funny." And so does much of the world.