The city’s two police academies are told that one of them is getting shut down, turning police training into a competition for survival. Naturally, our favorite collection of barely qualified officers returns to train a new class of recruits who might somehow be even less prepared for law enforcement than they were. Rivalries, sabotage, terrible policing, and an impressive amount of stupidity follow. Next week we’re reviewing the third movie in a franchise that apparently looked at two Police Academy movies and said, fuck it, let’s keep going.

Commissioned by: John S. • 9/24/26

• Year: 1986
• Budget: About $12 million
• Box Office: About $107 million worldwide
• Awards: No major awards
• Fun Facts: Steve Guttenberg returned alongside most of the familiar ensemble, while Bobcat Goldthwait’s former gang leader Zed somehow becomes a police academy recruit. The movie also brought back several characters from the original film who had been absent from the first sequel. It was directed by Jerry Paris, who also directed Police Academy 2. Despite another round of terrible reviews, the movie made more than $100 million worldwide and ensured that Warner Bros. would keep this fucking franchise alive for years.