Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol

"People just don't understand me."

"Maybe if you talked slower..."

"No, I mean who I am.  Man, now I have to worry about my diction too?"

Commandant Lassard (Gaynes) of the Police Academy has a new idea: Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.) to help his understaffed officers.  The purpose of C.O.P. is to have citizen volunteers working alongside the police officers in Lassard's officers.  The governor loves the idea and sends Lassard to England to present a seminar on the topic.  Lassard leaves the C.O.P. program in the hands of his favorite officers: Mahoney (Guttenberg), Hightower (Smith), Jones (Winslow), Tackleberry (Graf), Callahan (Easterbrook), Hooks (Ramsey), Sweetchuck (Kazurinsky), and Zed (Goldthwait).  Commissioner Hurst (George R. Robertson) leaves command of the Academy to Captain Harris (Bailey).  Harris and his bumbling assistant Proctor (Kinsey) hate the idea of the C.O.P. program and plans to destroy the program.

The C.O.P. volunteers include gun-enthusiast senior citizen Mrs. Lois Feldman (Bird), overweight Tommy "House" Conklin (Thacker), inept lawyer Milt Butterworth (McGrath), photographer Laura (Bohrer), skateboarding delinquents Kyle (Spade) and Arnie (Backer).  The program also draws the attention of reporter Claire Mattson (Sharon Stone), who follows the group for a story.  Can the officers and volunteers work together to bring Lassard's dream to fruition?

The fourth (of 7) films in the Police Academy franchise: Police Academy in 1984, Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment in 1985, Police Academy 3: Back in Training in 1986, Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach in 1988, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege in 1989, and Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow in 1994.  The franchise also included 2 TV shows (one live action and one animated).

The Good:

The main characters from the prior film, excluding Officer Fackler (and his wife) and villain Commandant Mauser, return for another adventure.  The characters all hit the same marks from the previous films: soft spoken Hooks shouting, Jones' incredible sound effects, Smith's intimidating presence, terrorizing Harris, outsmarting Proctor, etc.  They also continue the tradition of Lassard and his goldfish.  These pieces will familiar and necessary, without being overly tired.  The pairing of Tim Kazurinsky as Officer Sweetchuck and Bobcat Goldthwait as Officer Zed is great... in the previous films (2 and 3) they were at odds, but here they are mostly friends who fight.

The new characters add to the story, and give the film a reason to be at the Academy and training new recruits.

The Bad:

While the cast is good, there are too many characters (including the brief scenes with the Kirklands and Nogata) to have good stand-out moments for anyone.

Other Comments:

-This was the final appearance of Steve Guttenberg in the franchise, although the character of Mahoney appeared in the animated Police Academy television show (1988-1989).  It is also the final appearance of Kazurinsky and Goldthwait.  Officers Sweetchuck and Zed also appear in the animated show.

-Film debut of actor David Spade

-Tony Hawk is one of the skateboarders in the film.

-Theme song "Citizens on Patrol" that plays at the beginning of the film and again over the end credits is performed by Michael Winslow and the L.A. Dream Team.

-Nominated for a Razzie (Golden Raspberry Award) for Worst Original Song for Brian Wilson's "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car"

-Not bad, but also not great.

Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987) 88 minutes

Director: Jim Drake

Starring: Steve Guttenberg as Sergeant Carey Mahoney

Bubba Smith as Sergeant Moses Hightower

Michael Winslow as Sergeant Larvell Jones

David Graf as Sergeant Eugene Tackleberry

Tim Kazurinsky as Officer Carl Sweetchuck

Leslie Easterbrook as Lieutenant Debbie Callahan

Marion Ramsey as Sergeant Laverne Hooks

Lance Kinsey as Lieutenant Carl Proctor

G.W. Bailey as Captain Thaddeus Harris

George Gaynes as Commandant Eric Lassard

Bobcat Goldthwait as Officer Zed McGlunk

Derek McGrath as Milt Butterworth

Billie Bird as Mrs. Lois Feldman

David Spade as Kyle Rumford

Brian Backer as Arnie Lewis

Tab Thacker as Tommy "House" Conklin

Corinne Bohrer as Laura

Batman vs. Two Face

During an experiment to extract the evil from criminals, the machine malfunctions.  District Attorney Harvey Dent (Shatner) is splashed by the vilified liquid.  The accident leaves him physically and mentally scarred and he becomes villain Two-Face.

He is captured by Batman (West) and Robin (Ward), undergoes surgery to repair his face, and is rehabilitated.  Months later, he is able to return to work as the assistant to the District Attorney. 

Meanwhile, Batman and Robin investigate a series of crimes that seem to implicate Two-Face.  Batman is not convinced that Dent is the culprit.  Robin thinks it is obvious that Dent is still committing crimes as Two-Face.  Can the Dynamic Duo set aside their differences and solve the mystery?

Like the 2016 film Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, this film is a new story based on the 1966 Batman TV show.

The Good:

Unlike the villains in the previous film, Two-Face never appeared on the 1960s TV show.  The producers were unable to find a family-friendly way to introduce the character.  This film gives them the opportunity to add him to the rogues gallery.

Once again original cast members Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar reprise their roles here.  William Shatner is a decent addition to the cast as Two-Face.

The Bad:

Not bad, just different... the tone of this film is darker than the previous film and the show.  It is not as dark as the current versions, but feels a little out of character.

Other Comments:

-The film is dedicated to West, who died in 2017.

-Lee Meriwether played Catwoman in the 1966 Batman movie.  Here, she voices lawyer Lucilee Diamond.  As a nod to that role, her character wears the Catwoman costume and says "purr-fect" in her final scene.

-It is not necessary to watch the 1960s TV show or the 2016 film before watching this, but it does help.

-Stick around to watch the main characters (Batman, Robin, Catwoman, Alfred, Aunt Harriet, and Two-Face) dancing to the music while the end credits roll.

-Not bad, but definitely not as funny as the previous film.

Batman vs. Two Face (2017) 72 minutes

Director: Rick Morales

Starring: Adam West as Bruce Wayne / Batman

Burt Ward as Dick Grayson / Robin

William Shatner as Harvey Dent / Two-Face

Julie Newmar as Catwoman

Steven Weber as Alfred

Jim Ward as Commissioner Gordon, Hugo Strange

Thomas Lennon as Chief O'Hara, Warden Crichton

Lynne Marie Stewart as Aunt Harriet

Jeff Bergman as Joker, Bookworm, Desmond Dumas

Wally Wingert as Riddler, King Tut

William Salyers as Penguin

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

"No one can can out smart Batman for very long."

When supervillains Catwoman (Newmar), Joker (Bergman), Penguin (Salyers), and Riddler (Wingert) team up, the city of Gotham turns to the caped crusaders Batman (West) and Robin (Ward) to save the day.  The criminals steal a duplicator ray and return to their lair.  When the Dynamic Duo track them down, Catwoman scratches Batman with "batnip" in order to turn him evil.

Batman seems unaffected by the batnip and they evade the trap of the supervillains.  As Batman and Robin try to find and capture the quartet, Batman begins to show more aggression.  Can they save Batman and Gotham from the the machinations of their foes?

This film is an animated sequel/continuation to the 1966-1968 Batman TV series.

The Good:

The film keeps the look, feel, and sensibilities of the 1960s show.  Three original cast members Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar reprise their roles, while the other characters have new voice actors.  The costumes and mannerisms of the characters follow the portrayal from the show.  The tone is light, while also giving Batman a chance to go darker.  It is still a mostly comic take, which is in stark contrast to the dark and gritty tone of modern Batman films.

The film also features the rogues gallery from the show: Bookworm, King Tut, Shame, Siren, etc.  While most of the characters do not say much (and their original actors are deceased), Wally Wingert's Riddler sounds like Frank Gorshin's take on the character.

The Bad:

The actors voicing Joker and Penguin sound slightly off, they have the iconic laughs of Cesar Romero and Burgess Meredith, down, but not the exact voices.  Aunt Harriet is annoying and off-putting, she is snarky and winking at the audience.  I didn't love the character in the show, but here she is unbearable.

Other Comments:

-Stick around to watch Batman and Catwoman dance to the music while the end credits role.

-Watching the 1960s TV is not a prerequisite, but you will definitely get more of the in-jokes and callbacks.

-In the 1960s, Catwoman was portrayed by 3 actresses: Julie Newmar (seasons 1-2 of the show), Lee Meriwether (Batman: The Movie), and Eartha Kitt (in season 3).  Each had a slightly different, but equally iconic, take on the character.  This film features a nod to these women when Batman is knocked on the head and sees triple Catwoman who look like Newmar, Meriwether, and Kitt.

-Where is Batgirl?  Yvonne Craig died in 2015, but it is disappointing that there is no nod or reference to her or Batgirl in this film.

-This film did well enough to get a sequel in 2017, Batman vs. Two Face.

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (2016)

Director: Rick Morales

Starring: Adam West as Bruce Wayne / Batman

Burt Ward as Dick Grayson / Robin

Julie Newmar as Catwoman 

Jeff Bergman as Joker, Announcer 

William Salyers as Penguin

Wally Wingert as Riddler

Jim Ward as Commissioner Gordon

Steven Weber as Alfred

Thomas Lennon as Chief O'Hara