LOS ANGELES, July 1 (Reuters) - After more than a decade

of superheroes saving the world on the movie screen, Eddie

Murphy is bringing back the character he describes as "every

man."

Murphy returns as Axel Foley in "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,"

a new installment in the action comedy franchise that debuted 40

years ago in 1984. The movie lands on Netflix ( NFLX ) on

Wednesday.

"For 10-15 years, everything was CG (computer-generated),

big visual effects and superheroes and people saving the day

wearing capes and tight suits," Murphy said in an interview.

"I knew eventually it would have to get back to this," he

added. "It used to be stuff was character-driven and

story-driven and that's going to always work."

In the new film, the wise-cracking Foley is working as a

detective in Detroit when he learns his estranged daughter is in

danger in Beverly Hills. He returns to the city to reconnect

with her and help solve a case.

Foley "is not Superman," Murphy said. "He's every man, every

guy who doesn't play by the rules. He's the kind of guy you want

to have a beer with."

The movie - the fourth in the franchise and the first since

1994 - aims to capture the look and feel of the original without

modern special effects. The action takes place through real-life

stunts such as a harrowing helicopter chase across Los Angeles.

"What was more difficult was all the physical stuff," Murphy

said. "I'm in my 60s now and I did the first one (at) 21 years

old, so you can imagine the differences."

Previous stars Judge Reinhold and John Ashton reprise their

roles in the film. Newcomers include Kevin Bacon and Joseph

Gordon-Levitt.

Bacon said he liked the old-school stunts in the new movie,

saying he believed it was hard to impress today's audiences with

computer-generated effects.

"If you put a truck driving and it knocks the door off a cop

car, and you see Joe in the middle saying 'there's no seatbelt',

that's like, to me, that's a wow," Bacon said.

"That's much more satisfying, I think, for people now

because I think we're just kind of numb to all the other stuff."

Murphy said there had been attempts over the years to

resurrect the franchise but none of the scripts had the

"emotional hook" of the storyline between Foley and his

now-adult daughter.

"The movie is really about this father reconciling with his

daughter," Murphy said. "Once we added that to it, everything

just fell into place. That's the glue that holds the whole movie

together."