| Axel Foley | |
|---|---|
| Beverly Hills Cop character | |
| First appearance | Beverly Hills Cop |
| Created by | Danilo Bach |
| Portrayed by | Eddie Murphy |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Police Detective |
| Nationality | American |
Axel Foley is a fictional character, portrayed by Eddie Murphy, and is the main protagonist of the Beverly Hills Cop film franchise.[1] He is ranked number 78 on Empire Magazine's list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.[2] Sylvester Stallone was originally intended to be Axel Foley.[3]
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Foley (born August 25, 1959) is a Detroit native and small-time juvenile hoodlum who attended Mumford High School. After a few years in which he was unemployed, Foley joined the Detroit Police Department in 1983. A talented policeman, Axel is also known to bend the rules, which annoys his boss, Inspector Todd, who was killed in a shoot-out in 1994. Foley is an only child with no close relatives except his parents.
Foley is delighted when he receives a surprise visit from his best friend Mikey Tandino, who lives in California. Unfortunately, Mikey is soon killed when Axel was bumped in the head, by a man named Zack. Foley goes to Beverly Hills, California, to find Mikey's assailant (since Mikey told Foley he had a job at an art gallery in Beverly Hills) where Beverly Hills Police Department Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil assigns Detective Billy Rosewood and Rosewood's partner, Sergeant John Taggart, to keep an eye on Foley. Foley visits his childhood friend Jenny Summers, who works at the art gallery. With Jenny's help, Foley discovers that Zack works for Jenny's boss, Victor Maitland, the man who owns the gallery. Maitland is a drug kingpin who is using the gallery as a front, and Maitland ordered Zack to kill Mikey after Maitland accused Mikey of stealing some of Maitland's bonds. Billy, Taggart, and Foley head to Maitland's mansion to apprehend Maitland. Foley and Bogomil simultaneously shoot and kill Maitland.
Detroit cop Axel Foley is watching the news on TV when the reporter tells a story that Foley's friend, Beverly Hills Police Department Captain Andrew Bogomil, has been shot by a tall woman. Foley heads out to Beverly Hills to visit Bogomil in the hospital, and this is where Foley is reunited with Bogomil's daughter, Jan Bogomil. Foley is also reunited with Detective Billy Rosewood and Sergeant John Taggart. Rosewood and Taggart decide to let Foley help them find the woman who tried to kill Bogomil, even though abusive police chief Harold Lutz has been deliberately trying to find a reason to fire Billy and Taggart. Foley, Rosewood, and Taggart soon discover that the alphabet robberies, a series of robberies that have been going on in the area, are masterminded by weapons kingpin Maxwell Dent, and Dent had sent his fiance Karla Fry to try to kill Bogomil because Bogomil had been after Dent. With this information, Foley, Rosewood, and Taggart try to find Dent and Karla.
One night in Detroit, during a shoot-out at a chop shop, Axel Foley sees his boss, Inspector Douglas Todd, deliberately murdered by a man named Ellis Dewald. With his dying breath, Inspector Todd asks Axel "Axel, are you on a coffee break?" and tells him to "go and get that son of a bitch". The evidence at the scene points to Wonder World, a theme park in Beverly Hills, California. Foley does some looking around, and finds the killer's vehicle, which contains evidence of suspected counterfeiting.
In Beverly Hills, Axel is reunited with his friend Billy Rosewood, who tells Axel that John Taggart is now retired and living in Phoenix, Arizona. Rosewood is now the Deputy Director of Operations for Joint Systems Interdepartmental Operational Command (DDOJSIOC). Billy also has a new partner named Jon Flint. Foley checks out Wonder World, which is owned by Dave "Uncle Dave" Thornton. At Wonder World, Foley rescues two kids who are stuck on a ride that broke down, and after this, Foley is taken to see the park's head of security, Ellis Dewald, and Foley recognizes Dewald as Inspector Todd's killer. Flint refuses to believe this, because Dewald is one of Flint's friends, but in actuality, Dewald runs a counterfeiting ring that uses the theme park as a front.
Foley is also falling in love with Janice Perkins, who works at the park. When Dave gets shot by Dewald in the chest with his gun, Foley is accused of being the man who shot Dave after rushing him to the hospital. With the - rather reluctant - help of Billy, Foley sets out to prove his innocence and get revenge on Dewald. This results in a chase and shootout with Dewald's security men all across the theme park.
Finally, in the park's prehistoric world ride, Foley manages to kill Dewald but gets shot himself. As he sits down to recover, Agent Steve Fulbright, who had been helping Foley suddenly shows up. Foley reveals that he has come to suspect that Fulbright is also involved in the counterfeit scheme. His suspicions are true, but as the corrupt agent prepares to shoot him, Foley jumps him, and in the ensuing tussle Fulbright is accidentally killed when his gun is fired. One of the shots, however, over penetrates and nicks Flint, who has just arrived; both are eventually joined by Rosewood, who has been seriously wounded by the security men.
In the end, Flint, Rosewood and Foley are all injured, and Janice invites Foley to an upcoming Tunnel of Love Ride but not before the latest character of the theme park has been introduced—Axel Fox.
The movie has had a mostly positive from critics.[4][5][6]
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