Such a frustrating disappointment

Just perfect...

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

As has been said before in my reviews for the previous four 'Police Academy' films, 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. While it was with the fourth film where things properly got particularly stale, it was from the fifth film where finding redeeming qualities proved to be difficult.Not that 'Police Academy 5' doesn't have them. It has two mildly amusing gags, one with a golf ball and the other involving falling into the water and an alligator. The best performance by a large margin comes from Rene Auberjonois, who seems to be having fun and really makes an effort to liven things up (and he succeeds).Even with the presence of George Gaynes, G.W. Bailey and Michael Winslow, high points previously, only Auberjonois comes close to giving a good performance. The regulars do do their best but are let down by awful writing and characters that sees bumbling taken to wild extremes that it becomes irritating and intelligence-insultingly stupid. Matt McCoy is an incredibly bland and wooden lead, filling in for Steve Guttenberg (him leaving the series was a very wise decision for him).'Police Academy 5' looks cheap, with budget and time constraints written all over it, and generally it is also one of the most ineptly directed films of the series. The music, so catchy and infectious in previous instalment, is forgettable at best here and often that is being too kind on it.Anybody who disliked the writing in the previous three 'Police Academy' sequels will outright hate it here. The dialogue is often mean-spirited and low-brow, and the gags are almost completely unfunny all round (apart from two amusing gags that are not close to being series highlights). They suffer from pedestrian timing and from taking immaturity to a whole new level that one feels their IQ has dropped.While it has been well established that people don't see the 'Police Academy' films for their stories, the story here feels repetitive and incredibly lazy in execution, and it's only with the kidnapping subplot (which doesn't gel with the rest of the film) where there's a little more momentum. The climax is overlong and dumbness replaces genuine excitement.Overall, a mess. 2/10 Bethany Cox

I hate to do this, but I must be fair to say, this is the worst one, and I mean out of every one, including the 94 Moscow entry. Police Academy 6 is a comedic relief after this. Laughs and gags, just keep misfiring or are they just so weak as is the film. This actually got a Blimp award as Warner's favourite movie. You get to a point in this, where you no longer look at it as a comedy. There were only a couple of things I laughed at in the whole ninety minutes of film, one scene that just sticks out, is the mistaken first class trip, Harris and Proctor take with a few farmyard animals. Even the opening scene, with these two clowns, the gags and it's lazy writing is just water weak. Lassard, who's passed retirement age (this hidden info discovered, thanks to our two bumbling unlikeables who reveal it so of course, the long avenging Harris can take Lassard's place) has been invited to Miami for a commendation farewell party, so he invites his favourite academy of misfits along, where they inadvertently bump heads with a band of bumbling jewel thieves, lead by a familiar snooty face, Rene Auberjonois from the Benson t.v. show, and he laps the bad guy up wonderfully. Too we meet Lassard's likable grandson, also a cop, and a damn fine one (Matt MCcoy) where the laughs and gags, just keep on misfiring, Auberjonois and the beautiful Miami bird watching sights, the best things about this dreaded Academy entry. The delicious Janet Jones as a hot cop with secret deadly karate skills, was a nice edition, where really after, her career just dropped off. An actor I do like too, and didn't mind in this was Archie Hahn as one of Auberjonois's henchman. This is just one of those one's, where the intended funny bits, just keep missing, where our lovable Academy's traits, like Jones's sound tricks, even Tackleberry's over enthused gun play and new choices of weapon gags missed too. Could it be, we're sick of them. That shark in the water gag, at first I thought that shark was intentionally not real, like someone mucking around. No it was real. And Harris's lotion stained message on his sleeping body gag, was something else, that totally didn't go over, as does this supposed comedy. Even it's faded poster design isn't catchy. Check out too how many, revulsed and disapproving looks Harris and Proctor from potentially available babes.

Steve Guttenberg said "no" to being in this or any other sequels that may follow, a good choice. Cmndt. Lassard (George Gaynes) has reached retirement age, to the delight of Capt. Harris (G.W. Bailey), who is planning to take over his job. The cinematography is stark and bare, with only the soundtrack adding some effect. From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. They do however drive the story, which seemed to be their purpose, so I can accept them. This is probably the worst of the sequels, with nothing to laugh at. Heartfelt and riveting from the first frame to the last.

Where to begin with this one? It's hard to describe how bad this film really is. I was never a fan of the way-too-long-running 'Police Academy' series back in their Eighties heyday, and always did my best to avoid them. Recently, though, I was at a friend's house when he insisted on watching the whole of this catastrophic waste of celluloid as it was being screened on ITV2 on a Sunday afternoon. Even by the low standards set by previous entries in this series, this has to be far worse than anyone could reasonably expect. I'm not without a sense of humour; slapstick and farce, when done by film-makers who actually know what they're doing, can be hilarious - see the 'Naked Gun' films. But the makers of this stinker seem to have no idea about any of the technical aspects that make a comedy movie work. This film is badly directed, has hardly any plot, and plays out like a string of poorly-staged practical jokes thrown together by an untalented bunch of film students. Most of the jokes are so puerile and pathetic that it's insulting to expect anyone older than about 8 years old to find them funny, and some of the dialogue gives the impression that it's been made-up on the spot because it's so weak and unfunny you can't believe it's actually been scripted. At least Steve Guttenburg had some idea about comic timing and delivery of lines - his absence here shows-up most of the rest of the cast looking awkward and embarrassing, delivering some of the weakest one-liners since 'The Krankies'. Anyone who finds this moronic monstrosity of a movie funny, desperately needs a sense of humour transplant.