Police Academy 6: City Under Siege

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Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
The most forgettable one.
Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Peter Bonerz
Produced by: Paul Maslansky
Written by: Stephen Curwick
Starring: Bubba Smith
Michael Winslow
David Graf
Marion Ramsey
Leslie Easterbrook
Lance Kinsey
Bruce Mahler
Kenneth Mars
Matt McCoy
G. W. Bailey
George Gaynes
Cinematography: Charles Rosher Jr.
Editing: Hubert C. de la Bouillerie
Music by: Robert Folk
Distributed by: Warner Bros.
Release date: March 10, 1989
Runtime: 84 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $15 million
Box office: $33.2 million
Franchise: Police Academy
Prequel: Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach
Sequel: Police Academy: Mission to Moscow


Police Academy 6: City Under Siege is a 1989 American comedy film directed by Alan Myerson and starring Matt McCoy, Michael Winslow, David Graf, Bubba Smith, Marion Ramsey, Leslie Easterbrook, George Gaynes, G. W. Bailey, Lance Kinsey, George R. Robertson, Bruce Mahler, Kenneth Mars, Gerrit Graham, Brian Seeman, and Darwyn Swalve, and is the sixh film in the Police Academy film series. This was the last Police Academy film to feature Bubba Smith, Marion Ramsey, Bruce Mahler, Lance Kinsey, George R. Robertson as Moses Hightower, Laverne Hooks, Douglas Fackler, Carl Proctor, and Commissioner Henry Hurst respectively.

Plot

Cmndt. Lassard and his friends are called in to help Capt. Harris stop the Wilson Heights Gang.

Why It Sucks

  1. A weak plot that's mostly a rehash of the first film.
  2. The pacing is very slow and sluggish that make many scenes drag on for too long.
  3. Just like the previous two movies, a lot of the jokes are unfunny and forgettable.
  4. Lots of dumb scenes: Capt. Harris literally lets the water leak from his water tank after he's accidentally hit by a couple of boards, Harris keeps talking over Proctor after he's trying to inform Harris about the criminals behind their car.
  5. Bad villains: Ox is just a lazy, generic and stupid who doesn't get much anything to do. Flash is just a normal ninja-type guy who also doesn't get to do anything and finally, Ace who just runs around the town and randomly robs multiple places and gets away with them.

Redeeming Qualities

  1. It was nice to see Fackler again after he had been absent since Police Academy 3: Back in Training.
  2. Some of the jokes are good.
  3. The acting, though mediocre from many of the cast, It's still good in some parts.
  4. Great chase scenes.
  5. Kenneth Mars' does very good job on his role as the mayor who takes himself seriously when it comes to acting.

Trivia

  • The original plan for City Under Siege was to have Lassard and his crew travel to Moscow, Russia under the working title of Operation Glasnost. However, permission to film in Russia would not be granted until five years later with Police Academy: Mission to Moscow. Then, City Under Siege's setting was moved from Russia to London, England, with Richard Curtis and Ben Elton being offered to write the script, and a new working title called The London Beat, but was shot down by Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach performing below expectations at the box office, resulting in a decreased budget for City Under Siege, in comparison to the earlier films' massive budgets, as well as Curtis and Elton turning down the scriptwriting offer, thus it ended up being filmed in Los Angeles.
  • In an interview, regarding the Police Academy movies, G.W. Bailey stated, "There is a place for that kind of silliness, that kind of stupid escapism. But don't think we didn't retch when the writers came up with some of those gags for Police Academy. We would argue and argue and argue with Paul Maslansky. He would win the war, but we won the battles sometimes. There's a place for meaningless silliness. I mean, I don't want to devote my life to that. But I think back to when I was a kid and my friends and I couldn't wait for the next Bowery Boys movie at the Saturday matinee. I think physical humor translates to everyone. The reason that the Bowery Boys worked, the reason [Bud Abbott and Lou Costello] worked is because audiences knew them and liked them."
  • The criminal organization behind the crime wave in the city is called the Wilson Heights Gang, a reference to Wilson Heights Boulevard, a street in the Downsview area of Toronto, Canada. The specific area itself is called Wilson Heights. The name is also believed to be a reference to the director and co-writer of the first Police Academy film, Hugh Wilson.
  • Throughout the film, the Mayor constantly forgets his words and stumbles over his lines. This was not in the script, but a character trait improvised by Kenneth Mars.
  • A young (and unknown) Lisa Rinna filmed a deleted scene as a phony valet who tries to steal Nick Lassard's car. Though absent from the theatrical and DVD releases, this scene appears in the extended TV version.
  • Brian Seeman (Flash) was a trained gymnast and was allowed to perform several of his own stunts.
  • The bank robbed by the Wilson Heights Gang is the same one used for the big fight sequence between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2. This location was also used in the making of Usher Raymond's music video, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love", featuring Pitbull.
  • The U.S. Bank Tower is visible under construction in the background of several shots during the armored car diamond heist scene.
  • When Proctor is driving the bus during the big chase scene, he narrowly avoids hitting a corner fresh-fruit stand as Harris yells, "Look out for Gene and Roger's fruit stand!" This is a reference to movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, who mentioned in a review of one of the previous films that every Police Academy movie had to feature stunt drivers crashing through rubbish bins or a fruit stand. Despite the pair voicing their appreciation to the producers for mentioning them in this movie, it still received "two thumbs down".
  • Kenneth Mars would pop up again in 1997's Police Academy: The Series as Dr. Quackenbush.
  • Internet celebrity Nick Mason of The Weekly Planet stated that he once watched this movie over 20 times in one week.

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