Looking back on my oeuvre of reviews so far, there haven't really been any negative ones. But every now and then, it does one good to get some bitching off one's chest, and today is a now and then for me.
It is a sad law that sequels of unexpectedly successful films are generally far inferior to the original. Beverly Hills Cop 3 is no exception. Where the first one was quite good, and the second one not too terrible, this one... Just no. The creators apparently decided to abandon any and all realism and well-considered story writing in favour of absurdism. And don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of absurdism, assuming it fits the context. Or, you know, doesn't fit it in a funny way, because if it fits, it's not absurd. But in this case, it's as badly executed as a crispy-fried convict in the electric chair going "Is that all you've got?"
The theme park setting could've been cute and good for a few laughs, but once again, it just doesn't work. The microwave-CD player-mini bar-machine gun-whatever the hell else is in there contraption was just painfully embarrasing to watch, the acting is sloppy and lacks conviction, and even though Eddie Murphy hadn't quite switched from "Gritty, foulmouthed and hilarious" to "over-acted piece of shit family films" at this point in time, he was clearly no longer the Eddie Murphy-who-just-doesn't-give-a-shit we knew and loved from Saturday Night Live.
All in all, if you haven't seen this yet, don't bother. Honestly. Watch the first two films again, and if you're still in the mood for witty black cops with an anti-authoritarian streak after that, try Bad Boys.
