Quartile rating: 5/10 · 1 rating
A new batch of recruits arrives at Police Academy, this time a group of civilian volunteers who have joined Commandant Lassard's new Citizens on Patrol program. Although the community relations project has strong governmental support, a disgusted Captain Harris is determined to see it fail.
Police Academy 4 is a deeply formulaic fourth entry in a franchise that had already exhausted its novelty by the second film. The plot is essentially a retread of earlier installments with a thin new premise (civilian volunteers) that goes nowhere interesting. The comedy is broad and repetitive, relying on the same running gags and character tics audiences had seen three times before. Acting from the ensemble is perfunctory — the cast hits their marks but there's little energy or investment. Cinematography is flat TV-movie level work with nothing distinctive. Novelty scores a 1 as this is about as derivative and by-the-numbers a sequel as exists in 1980s comedy, recycling jokes, setups, and resolutions wholesale. The ending resolves predictably with Harris humiliated and Lassard triumphant, exactly as expected.