[7]

This film and Top Gun are the ones that really launched the Simpson/Bruckheimer brand of action/comedy that would dominate the box office through the late 80s and 90s. (Even after Simpson’s death in ’96, Bruckheimer is still a top name in action today.) Whether that’s a good or bad thing, I won’t get into. I’ll just say that at least it was a fresh thing back in 1984.

Beverly Hills Cop director Martin Brest wisely gives Eddie Murphy a wide berth. It’s a breezy film that focuses on character interaction and never gets bogged down in plot or exposition. And you gotta love the killer soundtrack, too — including Glenn Frey’s title track “The Heat Is On”, a couple of Patti LaBelle tunes, and Harold Faltermeyer’s now-iconic synth theme ‘Axel F.’ Ronny Cox, Judge Reinhold, and Bronson Pinchot are memorable in supporting roles, and the action highlight of the film is right up at the front — a multi-trailer semi chase featuring countless car crashes orchestrated to the Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance.”

Oscar Nomination: Best Original Screenplay