The film opens in Detroit, where Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) cruises through the streets to find delinquents who know and don’t respect him. Axel then goes to a hockey game to meet his partner, Mike Woody (Kyle S. More), as he knows that a group of thieves are targeting the Detroit Red Wings.
Axel finds the thieves in the locker room attempting to make off with stolen loot. He enters and disarms one thief before giving chase to the others. With a reluctant Woody in tow, Axel takes over a snowplow and chases the thieves through the streets, causing significant damage while trying to catch the guys. After finally chasing the leader down an alley and plowing him to an arrest (and leaving Woody traumatized), Axel gets chewed out by longtime friend Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser). Jeffrey informs Axel that he is retiring and encourages him to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
In Beverly Hills, Axel’s daughter, lawyer Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige), visits a potential client, Sam Enriquez (Damien Diaz). He is accused of killing an undercover cop, Lieutenant Copeland, but Enriquez denies being involved in the drug game despite him being found unconscious next to Copeland’s dead body with a gun in his lap. He claims that someone was following them and shot Copeland first, and that Enriquez tried to steer into the shooters, but he lost control and hit a pole before knocking out.
Jane requests to present evidence that Copeland may have been involved with criminals during Enriquez’s court hearing. Later, she is caught in the parking garage by masked criminals demanding that Jane drop the Enriquez case. They hook the front of her car to a truck before pushing it over the ledge and leaving Jane hanging and terrified. After she is recovered, Jane is met by Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), now a private investigator after leaving the force. He urges Jane to drop the case for her safety.
Billy calls Axel to let him know his daughter needs his help, whether she wants it or not. After hanging up, Billy is seen at an impound lot trying to stake out a drop, only for the criminals to catch him and apprehend him.
Axels makes his return to Beverly Hills after he stops hearing from Billy. He goes to Billy’s apartment and finds three goons snooping around the place. Axel tries to pretend that he’s been sent by their boss, but they find a picture of him and Billy, and Axel has to use a fire extinguisher to spray the goons and make his escape. He then swipes a meter maid’s vehicle and is chased through Rodeo Drive. Axel evades the crooks but ends up crashing the vehicle and gets himself arrested.
At the station, Axel meets Detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and tries to get in touch with Jane, who keeps hanging up on him until he says the matter concerns Billy. She begrudgingly goes to bail him out, and Axel finds out through an awkward interaction that Jane and Bobby used to date. Axel is then brought in to meet with his other longtime friend, Chief John Taggart (John Ashton), who introduces him to Captain Cade Grant (Kevin Bacon), a protege of Taggart’s. Axel expresses suspicions about Grant to Jane, thinking he’s wearing clothing too expensive for someone in his position.
Jane tells Axel that Billy was at the impound lot because Copeland’s car was there. On their way to investigate, Axel explains his disappearance from Jane’s life to be at the urging of her mother since Axel was targeted by a ruthless gang. The two talk their way into the lot to find Copeland’s car, where Axel discovers a hidden surveillance camera with a missing SD card. The two figure that there must be footage of Copeland’s murder on there, and that’s what Billy was after. On their way out, Axel sees that they are being followed and removes a tracker from Jane’s car.
Axel and Jane go to a social club and trick their way inside so that they can talk to Grant and his goons. He maintains that Copeland was not dirty while also ignoring the methods his goons used to get the SD card that he claims will exonerate Copeland. After they leave, Axel and Jane get into another argument regarding their relationship, and Axel goes to stay at an expensive hotel.
Axel goes to Jane’s job the next day, despite making her think he was leaving, with an address that Billy had. Grant and his goons were seen attending this location, and Axel offers to continue his assistance and protection of Jane. On the streets, the two are ambushed by cartel gunmen, but Bobby arrives on the scene and helps kill them since he has put himself on the case. They go back to the station, where Axel questions Taggart’s potential involvement in criminal activity with what they have learned regarding Grant and his guys so far. Taggart is offended and defends both himself and Grant. He angrily orders Axel to leave and has Bobby suspended.
Now working together, Axel and Bobby join Jane at her firm to dig deeper. They find that the address Billy wrote down is for a house that Grant and his guys have been using to do laundering with cartels. To get them inside, Axel recruits yet another old friend, Serge (Bronson Pinchot). He brings the three to the neighboring mansion as it is hosting an open house. While Jane and Bobby talk to the real estate agent Ashley (Nasim Pedrad), Axel tries sneaking toward the other house. There, he uncovers more evidence against Grant. His goons are notified of Axel’s presence and relay it to Grant, who promises to deal with Axel personally.
After another argument with Jane, Axel splits off with Bobby to talk to Enriquez’s uncle, Chalino (Luis Guzman). They go to his club and sit with him after offering to get his nephew out of jail. Chalino tells the two that Grant protects the cartels, and that Copeland was murdered for trying to go clean. He also lets them know that there is a big shipment at the port coming in that night. As they walk out, Grant and his men arrest Axel and Bobby, framing them for drug possession.
After a failed interrogation, Axel uncuffs himself and tricks Grant into letting him get away. He gets Bobby out and makes it to the roof, where Axel tries to get him to fly the helicopter since he heard earlier that Bobby was a pilot. Bobby claims he hasn’t flown after a previous bad experience, but Axel leaves him no choice but to fly. Grant and his goons give chase as Bobby flies the chopper too low across the streets. They make it back to the station, but Grant catches them and shoots the helicopter’s rotor, forcing the two to make a crash landing at a golf course. They steal a cart and head back out. Meanwhile, Taggart gets in touch with Jane after witnessing Grant shooting at Axel and Bobby, and he realizes there is corruption in his department.
Axel and Bobby go to the port where they find that Billy is being kept captive. When he sees them, Billy distracts his captors so Axel and Bobby can come in and knock them out. They steal a truck, and Billy tells them that the SD card is in a knife in his apartment. When Axel tries to call Jane, Grant answers, letting Axel know that he has taken Jane captive and demands the SD card be brought to a specific location. Axel contacts Jeffrey, who helps track Jane’s phone to the mansion. Axel tries to get the attention of other cops for attention, but it leads to a chase where the cops crash into each other.
Axel drives the truck into the mansion, leading to a shootout between Grant’s goons. Axel, Bobby, and Billy kill most of the gunmen before making their way to the room where Jane is being kept. Axel bursts in, and Grant nearly shoots Jane, but Axel takes the bullet to the chest. Before Grant can finish them, Bobby ends him first with a bullet to the head. Jane then rushes to her father’s side. Outside, Billy and Taggart reunite while Axel is taken to the hospital.
Jane goes to visit Axel but then finds his room empty. She figures to find him at a nearby diner. Jane tells Axel that the SD card was brought in, and all charges against Enriquez have been dropped. The two reconcile, and Axel considers staying in Beverly Hills
A few nights later, Billy and Taggart are doing a stakeout, with Axel sitting in the backseat. After some badgering, Axel convinces the two to go out for dinner with him.
