Beverly Hills Cop 4’s Daring Bet: Eddie Murphy’s Director Took a Giant Creative Leap By Doing One Thing That Led Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer to Glory

Eddie Murphy is back in action as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. This fourth installment of the franchise will be released on Netflix. But one unique thing about this film is that it is being directed by Mark Molloy, who is making his debut.

Some might consider it a bold move, as Molloy has lots of responsibilities for such a fan-favorite franchise on his shoulders. But he’s got an ambitious vision and a Christopher Nolan-like approach in one particular aspect, which is quite admirable for a first-timer.

Mark Molloy’s Practical Approach in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

Nolan is famous for avoiding CGI as much as he can in his films. Recently, his Oppenheimer caught attention not just for its story but for how it was made. Nolan’s approach to filmmaking, especially when it comes to practical effects, has always been a bit different, and it looks like Mark Molloy took a page out of his book for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. 

Molloy is taking a big creative leap. Unlike the majority of today’s action movies, he is not leaning on CGI or visual effects too much. It means real shooting, real car chases, and real helicopters flying over the LA streets. It’s like he’s channeling the spirit of those classic ’80s action movies.

This decision is quite a big deal, especially for a man who is taking the position of film director for the first time. In an interview with Collider, Molloy and producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that it is much harder to do it that way. However, Molloy was very insistent on creating an authentic sense of danger.

Sometimes there’s so much CGI these days that everything’s so over-designed and perfect that you don’t feel that danger anymore. And I look back at those films, Beverly Hills Cop 1 and Beverly Hills Cop 2, and a lot of action from the ‘70s and ‘80s, and the danger is so much more apparent.

Bruckheimer backed the notion and confessed it was tough convincing the studio to spend the extra money to film in LA and do things practically. But Netflix understood how important it was to get the feel of Beverly Hills just right. He also mentioned the helicopter sequence that was the toughest to pull off.

He wanted to do in-camera, and we supported him for that, and we had to get through the city of Beverly Hills. We had the shop owners and everything sign off that we could take over the streets. 

It was a dangerous sequence also because of the telephone and electrical wires and the wind shifts caused by the helicopter when it gets low to the ground. But Molloy wanted to have practical effects, and the studio backed him up, which included closing down Wilshire Boulevard for some of the scenes.

Influence of Oppenheimer‘s Practical Effects

Christopher Nolan caused some discussion when he reportedly stated that he has used “Zero CGI shots” in Oppenheimer. However, it was not completely true. What he was trying to say was that there were no shots that were constructed purely with the help of computer graphics.

Oppenheimer used a mix of practical effects and CGI enhancements. However, the final spectacle, the atomic explosion, was done completely for real. No CGI mushroom cloud was created here. Nolan and his team built a working mechanism for the combustion of thermite that could replicate the look and feel of an actual atomic blast.

Moreover, the visual effects team at DNEG was involved with the film, mostly enhancing practical shots. Things like the shaking backgrounds during intense scenes or some of the trippy visualizations of Oppenheimer‘s scientific thoughts probably had some digital touch-ups.

However, having this real, physical base is what matters to Nolan, as he began with a material foundation, similar to Molloy. They filmed actual stuff happening in front of the camera, then used CGI to polish it up if needed. This approach isn’t just about the spectacle, as both directors believe audiences can feel the difference between real sequences and computer-generated ones. 

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F will premiere on Netflix on July 3, 2024.
Oppenheimer is now streaming on Peacock.