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Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
1988 - PG - 84 Mins.
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| Director: Peter Bonerz | | | Written By: Pat Proft and Neal Israel | | Starring: Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow, David Graf, Marion Ramsey, George Gaynes |
| Review by: John Ulmer |
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As I sit here before my keyboard, there is a slight pause. I cannot fathom how to explain my overwhelming sense of utter bafflement regarding the "Police Academy" series. In two days I have written five reviews on the films in chronological order. I have given my thoughts on each film and, attached to each review, a tad bit more insight into the series itself from my own personal viewpoint. The tension is building. Just think -- one more review after this and I will have reviewed all seven films. Will there be any more entries into the epic saga of awful proportions? I sincerely hope not.
"Police Academy 6: City Under Siege" can best be described with one word: Horrific. I have never seen "'Manos': The Hands of Fate," which I hear from reliable sources is the worst film to have ever been recorded on celluloid. But I have seen my fair share of crappy films -- especially those tasty "MSTK3000" treats -- and so I have a bit of background on the subject.
Okay, seeing how the first two "Police Academy" films raked in 180 million dollars, I can see there being a third film -- perhaps. But a fourth film? No way. Yet it was made. And it flopped. And yet they still made a fifth film (which also flopped). They should never have proceeded to shove this mess into production. Six "Police Academy" films? No thank you.
Steve Guttenberg has left, Bobcat Goldthwait has left, and so have a few other minor actors -- but the main cast remains (and they will until the end of the series). If you haven't been able to tell by now, I'm running out of things to say in my reviews that I have not covered in previous ones. And so I will continue to ramble on pointlessly until an idea strikes me as clever.
The city is under siege! Who cares? The executives, of course! A metropolitan crimewave hits the city of our bumbling cadets, and so Moses Hightower (Bubba Smith), Eugene Tackleberry (David Graf), Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), and Laverne Hooks (Marion Ramsey) are called into action to find the jewel burglar and bring him to justice! Chaos and pratfalls proceed! Laughs proceed with caution and stumble, just like the cops in the movie, along the way! So, in conclusion, this is an absolutely laugh-free movie! Why am I typing in exclamation? You tell me!
Peter Bonerz directed this movie. Bonerz is a veteran of slapstick television -- so was Jerry Paris ("Police Academy 2" and "3"), and so it makes me curious: Do executives at Warner Bros. not understand that there is a difference between TV and feature films? Stupid little pratfalls and loud, noisy Looney-Tune-type sound effects do not make a very good theatrical film. This is like a cartoon transformed into some sort of horrible cartoon-film hybrid. It is evident that Bonerz, like the rest of the directors from this series, has a sense of what makes a funny half-hour television show, but he is lacking the feel for cinematic comedy.There is a big difference. Warner Bros. needs to realize this. For the most part, "Police Academy 6" (and all the films, for that matter) involve stupid banana-peel jokes. I've heard and seen funnier things from kindergarteners. And that's pretty sad.
"Police Academy 6: City Under Siege" is not funny at all, and to be brutally honest, that's all there is to know.
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