Loca academia de policía 4: Los ciudadanos se defienden (1987) Online

The police academy misfits are trying to help make Commandant Lassard's "Citizens on Patrol" neighborhood watch program work. Jealous Captain Harris does everything he can to make sure it fails. Most of the gang is here and likable as usual. Glad to see G.W. Bailey back from the first movie. Oddly, Art Metrano's sidekick from the last two sequels is still in this and is now Bailey's sidekick. I actually think it works better this way. Film debut of David Spade as a skateboarding recruit. Sharon Stone plays the requisite pretty woman Steve Guttenberg works his charms on. Love the '80s fads and clothing. The series is running on empty here but there are still some funny parts here and there. Bobcat Goldthwait gets most of the best lines. This was the last of the series to feature Bobcat or Guttenberg. The series really shouldn't have tried to continue without them.

Why is this movie rated so low? I admit that it is the fourth in the series and that is getting pretty ridiculous but this one has many memorable moments in it. Also where else can you go see Sharon Stone, David Spade, and a speacial appearance by a young kid at the time named Tony Hawke. No where else can you get so many people in one of their first movies. It is also still highly entertaining and causes me to laugh often. This is where you should stop watching the series however b/c they lose Steve Guttenburg and he is the only reason the series kept on for as long as it did. So don't give this a low score. Help it get out of the lowest 100 where other real horrible films belong.

So what's happened so far? A gaggle of society's goofiest citizens have taken advantage of a new policy to loosen hiring standards at the police force and actually made it through despite efforts from all directions to get them thrown out. They embark on their first assignment, which is to turn around Commandant Lassard's beloved precinct 16, which has been dubbed the worst precinct in the city and given 30 days to turn around or suffer some major employee turnover, a fate which is relentlessly helped along by the eternally butt- kissing Captain Mauser. They display a spectacular feat of water-borne police work, saving the academy and then return in the next movie to beat the city's other police academy when it turns out that the governor decides it's not worth the money to keep them both open.

Oh, and of course you all realize who is in this thing, right? None less than Sharon Stone, David Spade in his first film, and Tony Hawk in an early stunt-skateboarding role! You gotta see this!

This time, Commandant Lassard has come up with a scheme he calls Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P. Get it? Get it?), in which he elaborates slightly on the plot of the original movie. You see, the police force has been stretched a little too thin and the public has developed a negative opinion of them due to the fact that they can't be everywhere at all times to stop every single crime in the city. So the natural solution, of course, is to train the public as deputy police officers and basically have briefly trained undercover cops all over the city.

In fact, so close is the resemblance to the first movie that we are even treated to a couple characters who are forced to join the police academy or face jail time – an idea suggested, of course, by Mahoney himself.

This is the best part of the movie, by the way. There is a hilarious gang of skateboarding punks who are disturbing the peace left and right, headed by none other than David Spade, who is a hardened urban predator if I've ever seen one. Thug life, baby!!

Sharon Stone also has a relatively small role in the film, although probably one of the ons that she would like to forget about, and Lieutenant Harris is back after being gone for the last two movies. All of the other relevant cast members return, with the addition of a new group of misfits, like the token fat black guy, David Spade and his idiot skateboarder friend, and Tackleberry's FATHER-in-law. Remember that guy? Who is always gleefully punching out his son? I can't wait until the grandparents start joining!

But don't worry, until then we have Mrs. Feldman to hold us over. Here's this sweet old lady living in a nursing home/military barracks and who has more of a love of all things camouflaged than Tackleberry himself. In fact, I was waiting the whole movie for her to tell her that she's his long lost mother, but no such luck. Something went wrong with the screen writing in there somewhere, but ultimately she turns out to be one of the most consistently funny characters in the movie. She's played with a good-natured smile by Billie Bird, who clearly enjoyed herself while making the movie. You can always tell when the actors are having a good time, and it always makes the movie better, which is good because this movie needs a lot of help!

Of course, it's not much different than the last three movies as far as being worth watching. Bud and his father are still trading punches and it's still more groan-inducing than laugh- inducing, people are still accidentally wandering into the Blue Oyster Club, which hasn't been funny for three movies by now (Proctor inadvertently wandering in naked was the high point of this gag, but also the point where it becomes the most clear that the joke has lost its steam), and Jones is still doing that Bruce Lee impersonation which was funny in the first movie when I was a kid, but as an adult not so much… But, Callahan has a great wet t-shirt scene that makes the whole movie worthwhile!

Oh, and was Mahoney's mischievous grin ever amusing? That poor guy, man. His reputation has for some reason become so tarnished that he is seen by most of the public as even more of a washed up has-been than, umm, well no one else really comes to mind. Bill Paxton? Nah, he's cool, I think. I never needed to forgive him for Weird Science, but Guttenburg unfortunately has a whole string of bad sequels to make up for, and Cocoon and Short Circuit are just not gonna cut it! At any rate, super-gluing the loudspeaker to Harris' face was funny, but why they missed out on the opportunity to have Harris screaming through it at high volume at the doctors in the hospital I just can't understand. The screenwriters are not scoring many points in this one!

But still, this is one of the better Police Academies so far. This one and part 3 are the best ones in the series that I've seen so far, despite the hilarious 1980s badness (there's a boot- legging crime lord, for example, who operates his illegal warehouse standing around with a fistful of cash and a hula hoop around his shoulders), but there definitely are some fun gags. Harris macing his armpits is one is one of the more memorable gags in the whole series, along with Mauser getting his hands glued to his hair, and I have to admit that I enjoyed some of the scenes of the original recruits trying to recruit the public for the new C.O.P. program. It's not a good movie, but it's a good Police Academy movie!

The first three Police Academy films were brilliant and extremely funny. Police Academy 4 was unexceptional.

It does have it's good points; we see the return of Harris, who is now a Captain and Zed continues his crazy antics but there's nothing particularly funny or memorable in this film. The first three films had you laughing again and again but Part 4 was lacking anything truly funny.

The ending was a bit of a letdown compared to the climaxes for the first three films.

It's also goodbye to Steve Guttenberg as Carey Mahoney who quit the series after this film.

Police Academy 4 was painfully average. It will probably be a disappointment to fans of the first three films.

Indeed, that is the question many were asking in 1987, as the series soon turned into too much of a not so good thing. Sadly, it was only going to get worse from here. I've tried no less than three times to sit through Mission To Moscow, and it is just impossible. About the only reason to bother with episodes three through six is so you can see the final episode where Cast Member X decided they'd had enough. Or when Event Number X that was referenced in a sequel took place.

Another big problem with PA4 (and boy, there are many) is the change in target audience. Sure, episodes 1 through 3 could be enjoyed by children with two digits in their age, but the primary audience was adults who didn't have very high standards. Unfortunately, someone in the film studio must have decided that the writers have to please everybody, and so they watered down the humour as far as they could without getting a G rating. That, more than anything, is what hurts Police Academy sequels 4 onwards.

Steve Guttenberg must have taken one look at the finished product and wondered why he didn't quit about three films ago. Bob Goldthwait picks up the slack in terms of comedy, but his act is also watered down a tad too far, ditching any vocal expression of his character in favour of shouting and screaming at anyone and everyone. Which might work for a comedy about mental patients who have been neglected by the system for too long, but not when your character is meant to be a police officer. But then again, the whole premise is built on a notoriously shaky ground.

Every Police Academy film has at least one celebrity (other than George Gaynes) who wishes they had never appeared in the film. Sharon Stone gets her turn her, and despite what they say about her appearance in everything after Basic Instinct, at least she looks capable of acting. But amongst this lot, I'm sure a dead goldfish would appear to be emoting effectively.

Overall, PA4 gets a 2 out of ten from me. It stands as a good relic of what happens when you try to appeal to everyone, and it does have some genuinely funny moments, but it just cannot hold a candle to its predecessors, especially the first.

Attention, all units; be on the lookout for a criminally bad sequel to a slowly devolving "comedy" series. All involved give new meaning to the term "bad cop".

But let's be fair...momentarily.

The first one was actually funny.

The second was negotiable.

The third had a lot more sight gags (I love sight gags).

But "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol" began to show the wear that the series and its regulars was going through. As a rule, every even-numbered sequel usually isn't very good and this one carries on the tradition.

At least while watching it, it gives you time to consider certain plot points:

a) How do complete idiots stay on the police force for so long?

b) Sharon Stone? David Spade? How desperate were they to get their bills paid?

c) I wonder what Steve Guttenburg is doing nowadays?

d) How many drugs did they let Bobcat Goldthwait take between scenes?

e) Why doesn't Leslie Easterbrook do more scenes standing in a swimming pool with a soaked-through t-shirt and no bra?

f) Corrinne Bohrer is kind of fetching when she stares into the camera, isn't she?

g) Tim Kazurinsky really SHOULD get contacts.

h) Does anyone else notice that the more writers it takes to write a movie, the worse it is?

i) Really, what IS Steve Guttenberg doing nowadays?

And by the time you've thought all these points through, you've actually generated more plot than this entire movie could muster in its whole running time. Congrats.

Just a couple of stars this time, guys. And seriously, just watch the first three PA movies; you'll be a lot better off.

By the way, if anyone can figure out what happened with Steve Guttenberg, let the rest of us know.

"Citizens On Patrol", the fourth installment of the Police Academy is again shaped in the same mold as it's follow-ups: the slapstick, the crude humor, and sexual innuendos.

It's too bad that the writers of these movies couldn't think of something different than the same old thing, but what works works!

Kudos again to Michael Winslow and his vocal effects. Also thanks goes to the writers for giving Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait) a new love.

Of the Police Academy movies the worst of the bunch for me is the final movie in the series to star Steve Guttenberg as Mahoney. The jokes are the same, the cast is the same the only difference here is they are training citizens to help fight crime in a neighborhood watch type deal. Mauser is gone, replace once again by Harris and I liked Mauser better as he and Proctor to me worked better. Bobcat is back which is bad, as is most of the jokes in this very forgettable movie. Seriously, other than a plot point or two here and there it is very hard to recall this movie other than I did not care for it except for when Proctor ends up letting a whole slew of criminals escape and we have our typical Police Academy ending. I also remember the end with a hot air balloon and Harris. This one also tries to introduce new characters to the gang one overweight dude and an older lady stands out in my mind and for some reason in the next movie the overweight guy would be a cop which makes no sense.

This is a hard Academy movie to define. The humour is generally more smutty, keeping up the standards of the original, yet it also has awful gags about people slipping on skateboards and pidgeons secreting on policemen's shoulders. There are also jokes about farting, a sure sign of desperation. On the plus side, we see the return of G.W.Bailey as Captain Harris. That's about it on the plus side. The whole film looks rushed and is mostly set at night or on grey skied days that make it look awful. Not a pleasant film to watch. However, the public, including myself, flocked to see it. But, hey, you don't know what you're gonna get until you have paid your admission.

I'll admit, I enjoyed these "Police Academy" movies back in the eighties. Honestly, I really only have seen the first two in the theatre. The third one I saw on cable TV. Now that I've bought the box set on DVD, I can honestly say that it is at this 4th sequel of the "Police Academy" films, that they really should have stopped right here. A lot of the humor is predictable and (most annoyingly) often repeated. For example, Winslow (Larvell Jones), was doing his silly "karate man" humor excessively though many of the "Police Academy" films. If he only did this in one film, the humorous impact would have been cherished more. The first three "Police Academy" films are the best. Taking this predictable slapstick into four more follow-up films (with totally forgettable stories, was just a bit too much.) On a positive note, "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol" starred Corinne Bohrer as Laura. What a gorgeous blonde babe she is! And also, I'll have to admit that on the documentaries of the making of the "Police Academy" films, Leslie Easterbrook is still quite an attractive looking woman. Marian Ramsey still looks good, too.

I am loving this movie very nicely.

I love the scene where the pigeon drops its shite on the policeman's shoulder. I split my pant laughing at this. I am still laughing now.

I also like the woman with the big tits. She has very big tits, indeed...Nice. Pant splittingly amusing.

I am laughing at the farting noises made by the black man. Very amusing. Pant splittingly funny.

I am laughing at the dog sniffing the crotch of the policeman. Very amusing. Nice. Pant splitter.

I am laughing at the golf ball smashing through the car window. Very amusing. Nice. I split my pant. Such was the hilarity.

I must go now as I am urinating due to laughter as I think of this superb movie. I have wet my pant. Damn. I must go now.

So I watched Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol last night, the one thing I really noticed here on IMDb is that the ratings just keep going down after each movie. But I still wanted to see them and judge for myself, I loved the first Police Academy, the second and third are cheesy, but they were fun still. Now onto Citizens on Patrol, I honestly liked this film, I know it was cheesy and cliché, but with G.W. Baily back in his game, you can't go wrong. Again, one of the things that surprised me is that they've been able to get the same cast back over and over again, we also have two of my new favorite characters: Zed and Sweetchuck. It was great to have the old gang back together, even if the movie needed a little work, they still made the movie very enjoyable.

The Police Academy is given a new assignment, there is a new program called C.O.P., Citizens on Patrol, taking regular people off the streets and turning them into cops. Mahony has taken a few misfit punks off the street and made them join, there's an old lady, there's the average or less then average people in the program as well. But Captain Harris hates this program and will do anything to shut it down, but when there is a jail outbreak, he may just have to rely on the C.O.P. program to help him out.

Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol has it's good laughs here and there. I always love to watch the jokes the gang plays on someone, my favorite this time was how they super glued the mega phone onto Harris's lips. I would recommend this if you are looking for a couple laughs, I think people are bing a little too harsh on these films. They're the Police Academy sequels, they're light hearted and fun, they're meant to just relax and laugh for a bit at the stupid stuff. But I did feel like this is the weakest I have seen so far out of the sequels, it could have had more laughs, but it is worth the watch.

5/10

The first film deserved to be an international success, so sequels were pretty inevitable, and they seem to get worse as they go on, still with few things to laugh at. Basically Cmndt. Eric Lassard (George Gaynes) decides the Police Academy is overworked and understaffed, so he comes up with the "Civilians On Patrol" (COP) program, allowing civilian volunteers to help the police. Obviously ex-graduates Sgt. Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) and old friends, Sgt. Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), Sgt. Larvelle Jones (Michael Winslow), Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry (David Graf), Officer Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait, you may remember him being the bad guy in the 2nd film), Lt. Debbie Callahan (Leslie Easterbrook), Sgt. Laverne Hooks (Marion Ramsey) and Officer Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky) are in charge of training the new recruits. Capt. Thaddeus Harris (G.W. Bailey) wants Lassard's job, so he is determined to see the COP program fail. Besides that, it seems the main villains are some skateboarding troublemakers, hardly what you'd call evil master criminals, just naughty kids. What surprised me was the appearance of young pre-Total Recall Sharon Stone, as Claire Mattson, a small love interest I guess of Mahoney. Also starring Derek McGrath as Butterworth, Colleen Camp as Mrs. Kirkland-Tackleberry, Home Alone's Billie Bird as Mrs. Lois Feldman, George R. Robertson as Police Commissioner Hurst, The Emperor's David Spade as Kyle and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective's Randall 'Tex' Cobb as Zack. Guttenberg hardly has any highlights, well, neither do many of the other regulars, and you could tell Guttenberg wanted to move on to other films, Winslow adds some entertainment with his self-made sound effects, including a rap while some civilians are exercising, but it's very pointless. It was nominated the Razzie for Worst Original Song for "Let's Go To Heaven In My Car", why wasn't it nominated any others, same for the two previous and just as awful sequels. Poor!

I grew up with the Police Academy movies, well 3-6 because the others were R-rated and I was "too young". This one was by far my favorite, too many hilarious scenes to mention, but a few classic include the unforgettable lifting of the portable toilet with Sgt. Mahoney inside onto a full football stadium. Every time I pass a portable toilet or a building crane now I think of that scene and smile. How great would it be to really be able to do that? Or the grand finale with the hot-air balloon chase. Movie magic indeed. The classic mix of new characters thrown in with the group from the earlier films. All I can say is this movie will make you laugh no matter what, I know it did it for me. These films shaped my life and made me become the person I am today.

POLICE ACADEMY 4: CITIZENS ON PATROL is in my opinion, the best of the POLICE ACADEMY movies. It is extremely funny for a sequel. I have seen this movie at least ten times on television and I feel that this movie is one of the best movies of the 80's. It is truly hilarious. I love it. I think it is one of the best comedies ever made.

Police Academy 4 (1987)

** (out of 4)

The police force is overworked and understaffed so they come up with an idea to train citizens so that they can patrol their own streets. Of course our gang gets a group of rejects that they must train into shape. This was the beginning of the end for this series and while there are a few funny scenes the thing still can't keep afloat. The regular cast including Guttenberg, Smith, Winslow, Graf and Easterbrook are back but we've also got G.W. Bailey coming back as Harris, the main villain from the first film. Harris actually steals the film and gives an energized performance but that still isn't saying too much as the screenplay is very weak and basically just recycles jokes from previous films. Even the regulars seem rather tired and bored. Bobcat Goldthwait is back as well but most of his jokes seemed aimed at his bad speech. Heck, we even get a pre-fame Sharon Stone and David Spade but neither add much. The best sequence for me has always been the one where the veterans try to teach the new guys that they aren't ready to be police and take them out on the case of a voodoo man who is actually being played by Smith.

Police Academy 1 was good, 2 wasn't bad, 3 was bad, this one is worst. Why keep watching? Well, to rate it! There's only a few laughs in Police Academy 4, a movie that should have a lot more. Painfully long scenes like the one where the kids are skateboarding themselves into trouble or the final chase on the sea-doos. The acting is the only bright spot (although some of the actors look tired). Good to see Harris back with his sidekick Proctor, but it's not enough to save the day. Don't rent this one. Take it out for free at your local library like I did.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on January 2nd, 2007.

58/100 (*)

Okay, back in 1987 I was only five years old, but I was a little 'actress' at the time, and I did shoot a scene for this movie. Thing is, I think they cut the scene but I'm not sure because I haven't seen it since I was a child. If anyone's seen P.A. 4 lately, please let me know if there's a scene with a mom, a little boy (in a stroller) and a little girl eating an ice cream cone. The mom is talking to one of the cops who takes of his hat to say hello, and the little girl (me!) dumps her vanilla ice cream into the cop's hat. Not looking, the cop (I don't remember which actor it was) places his hat back on his head, and the ice cream splatters everywhere. It was a funny scene, so I don't know why they would have cut it! Lots of fun for me to shoot because they gave me a new ice cream cone for every take, and I laughed as the actor had to clean his head each time! LOL. Any help would be appreciated, thanks! Tabitha. (btw, I'm not in the credits... I looked!)

It's really something when a franchise begins its second trilogy. While many critics had found only the first Police Academy (1984) a mixed bag, the later sequels earned even less stellar opinions. Yet somehow, the series continued to push onward. While Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) was more or less retreading the same ground, Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986) stepped back up to the plate for some fun. The cause of this was more of having the original cast learning new skills, which reminisced more of the first film. Here, the story is now putting them in the trainer shoes. All because of an idea their ever so absent minded commander had one day out of the blue.

Written by Gene Quintano, who also penned the prior entry, was the sole writer for this film. The story begins with Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) having the brilliant thought of making relations better between the police and public by having a new program involving both. The program is called Citizens on Patrol (COP - how clever), and it would allow citizens to actively partake in making sure crime isn't committed. Seeing it as a lousy decision, Captain Harris (G.W. Bailey) returns with Proctor (Lance Kinsey) to fill in for Lassard as he makes his way to London to promote the concept. Meanwhile, it's up to Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), Hightower (Bubba Smith), Jones (Michael Winslow), Tackleberry (David Graf), Hooks (Marion Ramsey), Sweetchuck (Tim Kazurinsky) and assorted others to make sure COP succeeds.

So the plot itself is really not very different. If anything the premise feels all too familiar because it's more or less a soft version of the first movie, which encouraged regular citizens to participate in the police academy. Here though, citizens do not become police officers but instead act more as like a subdivision of the department. The only new feeling is that now the original cast members are the ones doing the training, but that's where it ends. Jim Drake as the new director was okay, but there were scenes that felt too padded. What does work in the script's favor are the homecoming of familiar faces and jokes. Having G.W. Bailey come back for another entry was great because he was after all the first antagonist in the series. Plus, seeing him get acquainted with Steve Guttenberg's character brings back fun antics.

Although not all the jokes induce laughter, there are some better than average moments. One being actress Billie Bird who plays Mrs. Feldman, a charismatic old woman who enjoys the thrill of being a police officer. She produces some good laughs but she's literally one of very few new recruits in the COP program that stand out. The only other character that is a new addition and develops another character is Laura (Corinne Bohrer). While uneasy at first she develops a soft spot for the reformed gang member Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait). Aside from this though, no one else is really has development. There is however an appearance from a young Sharon Stone and a debut performance from David Spade.

For cinematography, Robert Saad shot for the film. While he provided additional photography for the first film, he really took over in the last sequel, which was shot differently. The same could be said here. There are scenes that are filmed in the city, but Saad also captured shots from the sky and it's impressive. Figuratively and literally, Saad has visually taken the series to a new height. Music has enjoyably remained the same, with another score composed by Robert Folk. The main title theme is always jolly and the rest of scenes work where they should. Now, all that is needed since the first film are the scores released for all the sequels that came out.

If you've been enjoying the films so far even after all the character swaps, this sequel should still provide some good laughs. The cinematography is still shot well, the music remains entertaining and the reunion of Mahoney and Capt. Harris bring back so good jokes. However, the plot feels very similar to the first, very few new characters receive development and the jokes don't always work.

This is another one of my favorite comedy films and is my third favorite in the series, it's also another childhood gem of mine as I seen this when I was about eight. Even though this wasn't really a conclusion to the series (yeah, I know there were three more sequels that were so so in my book) as it marked Steve Gutenberg's farewell from the franchise but also to me the final time when the whole ensemble were all together and we're this good.

There really isn't a lot to say, the plotline as usual isn't really important as it's a clothesline by its nature, though actually pretty good as it's simply Lasard's crazy police academy is trying to spruce up community relations starting up a Neighborhood watch like program only here the citizen take an even more proactive approach to things as they don't just report crimes but actually get to kick some ass. I honestly didn't mind the premise it has a pretty good message on citizens having the ability to do more for their community and defend themselves and others against crime. Really like the "Citizens on Partrol" end theme which is an honorable mention as one of my favorite end theme songs, it's just a fun listen and really fits the film and time this film took place.

Other than that, this film is just plain turn you brain off fun, seeing each of the Police Academy crew just doing their thing. As usual it has the skit comedy like format as we see just a collection of scenes, I'll just explain a few of them as there are so many.

Really like the skateboard chase which is one of my honorable mentions in favorite chases as two skateboarders played by Brian Baker as Arnie and his friend Kyle play by a young David Spade this was actually he debut before he went onto Saturday Night Live, man good start. Both are wrongfully being chased down, it was just cool seeing them do some tricks and even seeing Captain Harris getting some rightful grief. But I also really like the skateboarding sequence right before, where Artie and are skating with their group of friends and we see some cool cinematography shots of each of the boarders doing tricks and jumping which I though was awesome. That sequence alone was one of the first times I saw skateboarding and got me into it for a little bit (couldn't do it well but hey I tried), and it makes sense as skateboarding and extreme sports was one of the biggest things in the 80's to come to fruitation. And on a side note, Tony Hawk was one of the skaters in that sequence, man good start for a legend.

Like the back and forth with Tackleberry and Mrs.Feldman. Mrs. Feldman is a solid new edition in the series, I'll admit as a kid I almost thought that was his mom, she could almost be. She pretty much a female Tackleberry as she is a woman of action. Despite her age she doesn't let it slow her down, as she is feisty and full of fire that still burns to this day and is more than capable and willing to kick some ass. I like that I think it's a good message, it doesn't matter how old you are if you are still capable and have the nerve to do one of the things you do best in life, go ahead and do it. But also, just because you old doesn't mean you have to act and feel that way. She's got some memorable moments like one small moment is when she witnesses a jail break at a police precent, she gives a couple of crooks that stop a look and you just know with that look their going to get it now.

My absolute favorite scene is the battle with the ninjas on a ship which is also an honorable mention on favorite battles. It's just cool as it's sort of a combination of two genres, martial arts and swashbuckling. As usual Jones, Nogata (whom isn't in this sequel that long which is the only weak point in the film), and Callahan deliver the awesomeness as they are all kicking ninja ass and delivering the hilarity. From Jones doing the bad voice dubbing voice which is just music to my ears, and he's just so good at that being able to constantly move his lips while delivering those deliciously bad dub lines, I remember trying that as a kid I never could do that. And Nogata in one part of the fight just when it seems like he fraked, he is doing flips avoiding the ninja. That was cool not just seeing gymnastic work but the swashbuckling aspect as in those battles there's a lot of jumping around.

Overall this was a fun sequel, if you're into the Police Academy series or just a comedy fan interested in some comedy sequels this is one the check out.

Rating: 3 stars

Police Academy were an almost constant feature growing up - the number of sequels watched, and in what order, was something of a badge pride in those days! For my part, my scorecard was completely out of synch - Parts 2 and 6 on VHS, the original on terrestrial, etc. Anyway, I have a bit of affection for Part 4 (for all its shortcomings) as the only chapter I ever saw in a cinema, one summer holiday in 1987, St Andrews, Fife. The story is daft, the acting variable (GW Bailey makes a welcome return, while George Gaynes aces it as usual), the jokes are hit and miss, and the series has quite clearly ran the course....but I'll always associate this one with warm summer evenings and pristine white sands. To be enjoyed as a bit of nonsensical and undemanding fun.

Police Academy 4 upped its game a bit, even though we only get one new interesting character with Billie Bird aka Mrs. Feldman. Aside from that some of the already established characters such as Hightower, Zed and Sweetchuck begin to shine again. The action sequences were taken to a higher level (probably due to new director Jim Drake), and there are still a lot of funny moments to enjoy. However, you can slowly feel that the ideas are running short when it comes to establish new elements and characters. But I should give credit where credit is due. Four movies in four years for the same franchise is impressive. And Police Academy 4 is a fun movie!

As was said in my review for 'Police Academy 3', The best of the 'Police Academy' films will always be the original by quite some way. It isn't great and will never be a favourite comedy or overall film of mine, but it clearly knew what it wanted to be so it was easy to take it for what it was and what it set out to do.

It was followed by six sequels, and none of them were as good or even on the same level as the first, though admittedly some are worse than others. Most of them are actually being pretty bad or worse and lose what was enjoyable about the original in the first place. Worse was to follow in the series than 'Police Academy 4', but it was from this point in particular when the 'Police Academy' series felt stale.

'Police Academy 4' is not entirely irredeemable, it has its moments. It is enlivened by the welcome and much needed presences of George Gaynes and returning (and much missed in the previous two sequels) G.W. Bailey. Bobcat Goldthwait also tries his best and doesn't try as too hard as in the third film.

These two also have the best very sporadic moments, the most coming from Gaynes while Bailey's Harris' deodorant/mace gag being the funniest the film got, mean-spirited of course but it was one of the few moments that were actually funny. The music is infectious enough, with the exception of the god awful "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" (which got a deserved Razzie nomination, losing out to "I Want Your Sex" from 'Beverly Hills Cop II').

Most of the humour really doesn't work. A lot of it feels laboured, and much of it was an uncomfortable mix of gross smut and juvenile immaturity. Am aware this is 'Police Academy' we're talking about, where one shouldn't expect too much and not take it seriously, but this was intelligence-insulting dumbness without an ounce of energy to make it slightly more tolerable.

Story is even thinner than the previous three films and with the pacing being so leaden it was difficult to forgive. Too many of the subplots are not interesting at all and not that well paced or resolved.

Apart from Gaynes, Bailey and to a lesser extent Goldthwait, the rest of the cast are not worth mentioning. Steve Guttenberg completely goes through the motions and it was clear that he didn't want to do another film in the series. David Spade has been much funnier and better since in a poorly written role, and Sharon Stone is lifeless as a character that couldn't have been more thankless. Jim Drake's direction is not as inept as that of the previous film but it does lack momentum and it does nothing with making the incredibly cheap-looking production values look more appealing.

Overall, pretty weak and the series was showing signs of being particularly stale at this point, but worse was to follow. 3/10 Bethany Cox

How many times l watch more l like....Police Academy is an immortal series that never l'll forget,have seven movies and this won't to anybody...in fact few movies had so many continuations in cinema's history....Commandant Lassard is very funny and bit of nonsense but Captain Harris and Proctor stolen the movie with so many gags and outrage situations along the movie...they are a real stooges,but every characters helps in some way perhaps it's the secret of success of this fantastic series a priceless that never ending series!!!

The fourth instalment of the POLICE ACADEMY series is far from the worst. It actually had me chuckling in a couple of places and I think the mix of old and new talent is a good one. Certainly there's nothing that feels very fresh or alive in this film but somehow it just about hangs together and it's one sequel that feels most like the original movie.

The likable Steve Guttenberg appears for the last time in the series and seems to be enjoying himself, as do the supporting players like Michael Winslow and Bubba Smith. Bobcat Goldthwait is still an acquired taste but there you go. The gags, which come thick and fast, are a mixture of slapstick and lowbrow jokes, but I particularly enjoyed all the humour at the expensive of G.W. Bailey's character - that megaphone gag remains a good one. Even though it's very much an average kind of 1980s comedy, in the world of POLICE ACADEMY movies, POLICE ACADEMY 4 stands out as being miles ahead of the execrable previous instalment.