We're not sure which of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross's five stages of grief we've hit in our consideration of Beverly Hills Cop 4. Denial and anger seem ages ago, as does bargaining. And a script review appearing online today has us skipping depression altogether for what we suppose is something akin to acceptance — if you call "believing there is actually a studio cynical enough to greenlight this with Brett Ratner behind the camera" acceptance, or if that just throws us back to the beginning again. Help us sort it out, will you?

Steven: The thing of it is, in this new internet era, you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. One second they're clamoring for the next Indy adventure...
Eddie: Well, no one was "clamoring" for another Axel Foley adventure, per se...
Steven: The next they're accusing you of having killed the franchise. Have you seen Crystal Skull?
[Murmurs of affirmation.]
Steven: I mean, it's not like it's even close to the worst of the four, was it?
[Beat. Crowd noise.]
Eddie: Hustle, Pau!

It looks like there's nothing anybody can do to stop a fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, which Paramount is reportedly pushing to a 2010 release date and which should finally fulfill that looooong-standing global demand for an Eddie Murphy/Brett Ratner collaboration. But as hammy, craven and sadistic as the project seems at a glance, and although it's likely bound for a dispiriting PG-13 script, we find our tortured souls compelled to give this one a chance; follow the jump for a half-dozen reasons why we could think of worse news to wake up to on a Thursday. Feel free to add your own; we need all the reassurance we can get.