“Well, it seemed like a good plan at the time.” —Commandant Lassard
Today’s quick review: Police Academy 6: City Under Siege. With the city facing a record-breaking crime wave, Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes) and his officers (Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow, David Graf, Marion Ramsey, Leslie Easterbrook, Bruce Mahler, and Matt McCoy) are assigned to Wilson Heights to search for the culprits. The new arrivals are met with hostility by Captain Harris (G.W. Bailey), who does everything in his power to make them fail.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege is, like its predecessors, a police comedy with an ensemble cast. The Police Academy graduates are united once more to stop a criminal mastermind who has the city at his mercy. The movie draws its humor from its varied cast, quirky situations, and the ongoing prank war between Captain Harris and his colleagues. But in spite of some smarter decisions, City Under Siege still struggles to earn laughs.
City Under Siege continues the series trend of marginal improvements in structure that are offset by predictable humor and a lack of heart. The movie does a cleaner job of managing its characters than some of the previous entries in the series, and it keeps the sprawling cast to a tractable number. But the jokes are recycled, the performances are mediocre, and the movie as a whole is missing the zany energy of the series at its best.
In terms of story, City Under Siege is a slight step up from the series status quo. The movie gets off to a stronger start, with an actual threat for the officers to face and one or two big questions for the story to focus on. Even so, the story is a flimsy one. There’s not enough depth for it to be truly interesting, even by comedy standards, and many of the scenes feel out of place, disjointed comedy routines that add little to the film.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege has a few points in its favor, but ultimately it suffers from the same problems as the other Police Academy sequels. Fans of the characters will get some enjoyment out of it, and the plot gives it a sense of structure that the last two films lack. But these aren’t enough to make up for middling humor, one-note characters, and a story that isn’t original enough to carry the film.
For a much more refined comedy about a bumbling police inspector, try The Pink Panther or A Shot in the Dark.
4.4 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 5.0 for repetitive humor and weak execution, even on its better ideas.