How to Watch the Beverly Hills Cop Movies Before Axel F Hits Netflix

The Beverly Hills Cop movie franchise is a Hollywood institution in many ways — the 1984 original sold more tickets during its theatrical run than any R-rated movie has since. And while the sequels didn't get the same love that that first movie did, Beverly Hills Cop has remained a part of our collective consciousness for 40 years in much the same way that Ghostbusters has. It only makes sense that Eddie Murphy's Axel Foley would turn up again eventually. And that's exactly what he's doing, when Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, aka Beverly Hills Cop IV, lands on Netflix on July 3.

You've got some time before that happens, though, plenty enough to rewatch, or experience for the first time, the original three Beverly Hills Cops — Beverly Hills Cop, Beverly Hills Cop II, and Beverly Hills Cop III — which were released between 1984 and 1994. The Beverly Hills Cop movies are all about Eddie Murphy's character, who is actually a Detroit cop who has some kind of crazy, movie-worthy adventure every time he visits LA — and, of course, he's also got the perfect quip for every situation.

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Beverly Hills Cop isn't really a plot-driven franchise, so there isn't much need to fret about remembering the story from the other movies or anything like that. Instead, a rewatch now would be more about making sure you'll get all the jokes that refer back to the other three movies. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to find and watch those original three Beverly Hills Cop movies: all three of them are available on Paramount+, and the original movie is on Netflix as well. 

That makes Paramount+ the easiest option short of simply buying your own copies of the films. Paramount+ is pretty affordable as it is — it's $6 per month for the ad-supported plan, and $12 if you want to skip the ads and throw in the Showtime library. And you can get a seven-day free trial, which is more than enough time to watch three movies without spending any money at all.

While only the first Beverly Hills Cop movie is on Netflix right now, you'll obviously need Netflix to watch Axel F when it comes out in July anyway. Considering most of the callbacks in the new film are likely to reference the original film, there probably isn't the same level of urgency to rewatch the sequel — that first movie might be enough. 

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F premieres July 3 on Netflix.