Metro (1997) Revisited

After years of dwelling in development hell, Eddie Murphy has finally returned to his iconic cop character, Axel Foley, in the new Netflix sequel Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. When Murphy broke out with both 48 Hrs and the 1984 original, he became a powerhouse as a comedic actor with a penchant for crossing over into action. However, he was never quite fully seen as an action star like Bruce Willis was when he overshadowed his career in Moonlighting with the movie Die Hard. In the ’90s, Murphy tried to take a swing at a more serious tone with the action vehicle Metro from 1997. And we take a look at this less-talked-about film movie his filmography on this entry of Revisited.

When it comes to Murphy and cop characters, it’s hard not to draw comparisons to the cultural milestone that is Axel Foley. It’s the perfect marriage of comedy and action as the character is a good detective who has a talent for using his street smarts to crack his cases, all while using his quick-thinking, fast-talking abilities to con his way through a myriad of situations.

When it came time to do part 3, among the number of behind-the-scenes stories about the production, it was said that Eddie had wanted to play Axel more serious in that entry. According to Bronson Pinchot, who portrayed Serge in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, when he did his scenes with Eddie, he noticed that he was in low spirits since he was coming off of a number of recent flops. After being tied to a certain personality for a large chunk of his career, it’s understandable that at a certain point, Murphy would likely want to change things up and explore more of his range. And since Murphy wanted to play Axel more seriously, certain scenes would explore that a bit as Axel showcased a sliver of a temper when he took the murder of Chief Inspector Todd very personally. Beverly Hills Cop III didn’t hit with fans for many reasons and the more serious action film that Murphy would hope for would come in the form of Metro.

Right off the bat, you’re treated to an ominous, but flashy credit sequence. There’s no pop song in this opening. It’s gritty and the temperature of the vibe feels cold, despite taking place in another area of sunny California. We’re introduced to Murphy playing Scott Roper — a hostage negotiator for the San Francisco Police Department. The film eases us in with some early levity as Roper is revealed to be playing the ponies and he throws a humorous fit when his horse doesn’t come in.

From there, we get a sequence that shows why Roper is one of the best at his practice. A hysterical bank robber, played here by Donal Logue – who would be showing up in Blade a year later — has taken hostages when his attempted robbery goes wrong. Roper goes in for a face-to-face and the tension keeps ratcheting up with every second the robber gets more unhinged. Murphy doesn’t try to humorously fast-talk his way through this situation, he instead tries to be a calming as possible as one guard has already been shot and a room full of frightened people are at the whim of a madman. This whole scene sets up what an astute analytical mind Roper has and how he can calculate a situation in mere seconds.

The kind of science that goes into reading a hostage situation is explored more as Roper gets a new partner – Kevin McCall, played by Michael Rapaport. McCall is a sharpshooter on the force who is graduating into the negotiator field. And Roper is taking him under his wing. There isn’t too much by way of a buddy cop comedy here, as it becomes the C-plot in the movie. But what IS there is pretty fun as the duo have a good dynamic and the scenes of negotiation training are interesting. The film would have definitely benefitted from more of this plot and to show the audience more about what goes into perfecting their talent. The funniest scene in Metro also comes from this plot and looks like it might be only part where Eddie was willing to go all out improvising as he plays the voice of the hostage taker during a training simulation.

Another subplot where some of the comedy comes from is when Roper dances around rekindling the romance between him and his ex, Veronica, played by Carmen Ejogo. It’s implied that she and Roper used to have a pretty serious relationship, even having a dog, with whom they now share custody. We’re introduced to the fractured couple as Scott wants to get back with Veronica, and he’s bothered by the fact that she’s seeing a baseball player. This subplot builds some character, but for the most part, it gets pretty cliched as it’s revealed that it was Scott’s preoccupation with work that pushed Veronica away. And while the two are sometimes at odds, there are also some bright spots in the relationship as they try to recapture some of the magic and Eddie gets to play around with some fun flirty humor.

The first 20 or so minutes are kept light enough that Murphy gets to indulge in familiar territory. Then, the movie switches gears when the main story starts. Scott’s friend, Lt. Sam Baffett, played here by Art Evans, wants to make a quick stop to question a possible lead on a case he’s working on. Baffett meets with a man named Michael Korda, portrayed by Michael Wincott. Korda starts very mild-mannered and unassuming until his true nature is revealed and he murders Sam rather brutally. Scott finds Sam’s body and starts pursuing Korda. And this pursuit would go on for the rest of the film.

While people may be getting Beverly Hills Cop déjà vu with this plot device, it’s here that you can see the juxtaposition in the characters played by Eddie. In Metro, although Eddie once again partakes in a quest to find a close friend’s killer, his Scott Roper has a darker edge to him as he becomes obsessed with vengeance. When they finally meet face-to-face, Korda develops his own personal rivalry with Roper and the two engage in a game of cat and mouse throughout the movie. This becoming more personal with both men is what really amps up the tension and makes Metro a heavier kind of film.

Eddie’s Roper is a master of keeping cool during hostage situations, but when Korda attempts to hit him in his personal life, he doesn’t hold back one bit. Wincott brings his own intensity to the table, which is especially jarring when we’re introduced to him as a pretty personable, cultured guy. Then he puts his gruff voice to work and his Korda straddles the line of a psycho killer.

Where Metro excels Beverly Hills Cop is in the action and thrills department. The numerous hostage negotiation scenes put our hero characters in uncertain situations where the factors can effectively build up the suspense. After we’re given a more basic scenario in the beginning, later in the movie, Korda makes his own stand off and plays with different rules that shows Roper that he’s dealing with someone of a different breed. And when things go to hell, the action gets going as we’re treated to a lengthy chase scene through the streets of San Francisco. It’s a pretty fun sequence and the movie takes advantage of the city’s treacherous roads. Interestingly, when Metro was in production, Michael Bay’s The Rock was hitting theaters and featured a very similar sequence with a high-speed chase through the same streets. You even see an ad for The Rock in the background of one of the shots. They both even involve the city’s famous cable cars in their respective chases.

The action and suspense scenes in Metro are plentiful. It’s easy to see that this is what Eddie had in mind when he wasn’t enthusiastic about doing Beverly Hills Cop III. Metro opened on the Martin Luther King holiday weekend of 1997 and would actually place 2nd under Chris Farley’s Beverly Hills Ninja. The movie would gross $74 million globally on a $55 million budget. Thomas Carter, who directed the film, admitted that he probably shouldn’t have made it an R-rated movie and thinks that it was a factor in the lukewarm reception. The film was never regarded as one of Eddie’s best, but he mentions in an interview with our own Chris Bumbray that he likes the film. Michael Rapaport, however, was less forgiving as he calls the movie, “Wack.” And he said, “It was really disappointing to me. The banter, the sh**-talking that you hear me doing here, we were trying to do that but the director was trying to do some other sh**. He thought he was making Seven.“

The film has its cult of fans, with many thinking it had the teeth that Beverly Hills Cop III was lacking. Or that it was a welcome change of pace for Eddie. So, now that Axel F is out, but you’d like to see what a more intense action film with Eddie is like, give Metro a look.