Many reviews agreed Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F inspired feelings of nostalgia, with Murphy back in the iconic role of Detective Axel Foley 40 years after the first film smashed box office records.
In a three-star review, USA Today called the film "a true comfort-food throwback".
But The Guardian gave it just two stars, arguing there was "little energy to enliven their formulaic reunion".
The original Beverley Hills Cop made Murphy a superstar and led to two sequels over the following decade and a chart-topping soundtrack.
In the new film, released on Wednesday on Netflix, Foley is back on the beat in Beverly Hills and his estranged daughter's life is threatened.
The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey awarded it two stars, writing: "The film has the confidence to poke fun at the franchise’s infamously bad third entry, yet comes to the table with nothing to prove, nothing to say, and nothing for Murphy to work with."
She continued: "It has landed at Netflix, with a bloated $150m [£118m] budget, hot on the tail of Bad Boys: Ride or Die.