TheLittleSongbird
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
Harriet Deltubbo
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.
seghers
Which is worse? A. A zombie apocalypse, or B. being forced at gunpoint to watch all Police Academy movies in succession? You have 10 minutes to decide. With option A, The zombies are the fast, brain-eating kinds. With option B, you do get bathroom breaks and occasional snacks and beverages. You are not allowed to look away, and you must not cover your ears or eyes through the entire duration. Since nobody has ever survived either option, this is a very difficult decision. I would go with option A, since death would come quickly. With option B, you would live for many more years, forever haunted with the reality of the extreme, inhuman - yet also amazingly shallow - depths of what some consider entertainment.
Aaron1375
Granted I did not think it was the best comedy ever, I just thought it came closest to being good since the second movie in the series. It had quite a few laughs to make me chuckle, the change of scenery was a nice change of pace too, and I was glad Guttenberg was gone. He was okay, but enough already with almost the entire cast in tow. I also thought the ending with the one guy being kidnapped was a welcome change from previous endings. However, it still needed more work, for one Bubba Smith was never my favorite character yet he gets to much focus now that Guttenberg is gone, the jokes are still repeated to much, and the franchise had way to many sequels in way to short a time span. Also, what is the deal with the typical Tackleberry joke in this one? In the first movie they depict him shooting a cat out of a tree and here they once again have him not shoot something, but just scare it away. I just wanted to see him open fire like he did in the first movie. Still, it had a more interesting plot than the previous two sequels and more laughs, if they maybe took a couple of years to write a story and shoot the film the movie might have been a more polished less repeated jokes movie.