Beverly Hills Cop became the most successful cinematic showcase for Eddie Murphy’s talents, but it wasn’t designed for him. It was conceived as a straight-forward Sylvester Stallone vehicle, and it remained that way until just a few weeks before filming began, when Stallone dropped out and Murphy subbed in at the last minute. The conceit wound up working better with Murphy than it ever could have with Stallone, because as an Eddie Murphy movie, Beverly Hills Cop’s text and metatext fell perfectly into sync. Instead of Stallone in yet another macho cop movie, BHC became Eddie Murphy in a Sylves…