Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)

**More of the same, but with quality and fun.**

This is the third film in the memorable “Police Academy” franchise, which was a remarkable success during the 80's and 90's. Of course, it's old stuff, but it's curious how, even today, many people remember these films, which are still quite easy to find on TV in Portugal. In this third release, the quality and freshness of the comic material is still remarkable, and the film manages to keep up with the two predecessors with relative ease.

The plot continues to be the Achilles heel of these films, but it gives us what is essential to sustain an hour and a half of different antics, with some mixed action: with expenses rising, the city decided to extinguish one of the two training academies for existing police, one being our well-known academy, led by Commander Lassard, and the other a rival academy, meanwhile formed by Commander Mauser. Seeing things get complicated, Lassard turns to Mahoney, Jones, Hightower and other law enforcement officers already well known to all of us for help, knowing they are the right people for the mission.

Continuing the efforts of the previous films, the crew and cast members are virtually the same as in the previous film. Jerry Paris, who had directed the previous film, remains in charge of the production and manages to give a great sense of cohesion to all the work developed. The bulk of the cast is present again, giving us more than we've ever seen, without surprises, but managing to live up to our expectations very well. We have Steve Guttenberg in the role of Mahoney, but giving the character more maturity and a sense of responsibility. Michael Winslow gets more attention in this film, and better material to work with and showcase his vocal gifts. Bob Goldthwait also gets more attention and more refined material, and along with the hilarious Tim Kazurinsky, he's going to be one of the funniest course cadets at the academy (in fact, the two actors complement each other amazingly). Also Art Metrano manages very well and gives his character a touch of elegant cynicism, being the ideal target for the mischief of others. Leslie Easterbrook also has more room to show value, achieving in this film one of the most interesting works of her career. David Graf, Bubba Smith and Marion Ramsey keep the same record we're used to, no big surprises.

The film retains the production values ​​of its predecessors. In addition to good filming locations and good costumes, the special effects are of good quality and the action scenes here received a more attentive treatment, and they work very well, especially in the final part. The editing was well executed and the fast pace of the film doesn't tire us, although at times we feel that it is nothing more than a collection of situational and verbal jokes, one after the other, and not a comic feature film.

<em>'Police Academy 3: Back in Training'</em> continues where the previous films left off, in that I don't hold any major pluses but, to be honest, they do make for easy viewing; to the point that I don't dislike watching them. I may feel differently after watching all seven, granted.

I do enjoy seeing the cast remain, I'm a fan of characters remaining across franchises without any recasts etc. So far, we've had basically all the people involved return. It's cool to see, at least for me; I like seeing a character's trajectory, even if the films aren't the best (like here).

It is neat to see the likes of Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow and Marion Ramsey again. Bobcat Goldthwait is even minorly watchable, his character should be irritating but somehow it almost works. Overall, there's a noticeable camaraderie between the main cast.