Eddie Murphy has hailed Kevin Bacon's "great villain" in 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F'.

Eddie Murphy was impressed with Kevin Bacon's villain in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

Eddie Murphy was impressed with Kevin Bacon's villain in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

The 63-year-old actor returns as detective Axel Foley in the latest movie in the action comedy franchise and thinks that Bacon's antagonist Captain Cade Grant will help the series earn a restoration to former glories after the disappointing 'Beverly Hills Cop III'.

Eddie told 'Late Night with Seth Meyers': "He is the perfect villain. One of the things that makes 'Beverly Hills Cop' work is the first two 'Beverly Hills Cops' are really good, and the third one is a little soft. And it's because we didn't have a great villain.

"And now you've got this great villain in Kevin Bacon. I don't know what it is about leading men who do villain roles, he's got this great, great villain."

Meanwhile, Eddie confessed that he "would rather not do any stunts" at the age of 63 as he is not as agile as he was when the original movie was released back in 1984.

The 'Nutty Professor' star said: "I did 'Beverly Hills Cop' when I was 21, and I’m 63 now.

"Now, I would rather not do any stunts. We were shooting something and the director said, ‘I want you to come out of this place and run down those steps.’ After we shot and he’s like, ‘Can you come down with more urgency? Faster?’ And I was like, ‘No!'"

Eddie has enjoyed huge success as both an actor and comedian but is still best known for his portrayal of Axel Foley whenever he travels abroad.

He said: "'Beverly Hills Cop' was my first movie that I'm the lead in. If I travel overseas they call me Axel Foley.

"Axel is an everyman. He's not a superhero or a super-cop, he's the everyman that rises to the occasion. I think that's why people like it. And more than anything, he's funny."

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