“Run for cover” ran the tagline for Police Academy 3 and it’s hard not to take that advice when confronted with this dire mess of a sequel. Guttenberg had flown the nest (replaced here by the blander than bland Matt McCoy) and all the characters who were meant to be second fiddle comic relief were now pushed up front and centre. In an attempt to give the series new life, the franchise uprooted to sunny Miami but being away from the Academy confines makes the film feel more generic if that is possible. It also tried its hand at a more convoluted plot but you can just hear the gears grinding at every attempted set-up and gag. Lassard mistaking the smuggled diamonds in a camcorder as a retirement gift or believing that his kidnap is part of a planned police routine is the kind of laboured routine that wouldn’t pass muster on an episode of Last Of The Summer Wind. Indeed, the whole second half of the flick bares more than a passing resemblance to the water bound kidnapping of Police Academy 3.
Director Myerson fails to inject any zip or fun into the proceedings and the only smile inducing moments involve Tackleberry’s glee at playing with some heavy duty weaponry but it’s not enough to sustain a whole movie. Tired, lamentable stuff.