Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow * (1994, George Gaynes, Michael Winslow, David Graf, Leslie Easterbrook, G W Bailey, Ron Perlman, Christopher Lee, Charlie Schlatter, Claire Forlani, Richard Israel) – Classic Movie Review 6945

‘Kicking buttski. Making you laughski. The Academy is backski!’ Oh so naffoffski!

After a happy respite of five years since Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989), the Police Academy returns for its final episode, Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow (1994), and mounts its own contribution to Glasnost, as the inept crime-busting cop crew travels to Russia to try to take down Konstantine Konali (Ron Perlman), the godfather of the Russian mafia, who is planning to swindle the entire world.

Ingeniously using computer nerd Richard Israel (Adam Sharp)’s popular video game, Konali has uncovered a way to access any computer on earth, and once inside the system he can steal anything from Swiss bank accounts and New York stock exchange shares, to Pentagon and Kremlin secrets, or Fulton market fish.

Christopher Lee plays Commandant Rakov, the Russian cop who invites Commandant Lassard (George Gaynes)’s police lads over to ‘kick buttskies’. Those asking why Lee would agree to appearing in this get their answer in his autobiography. He owed a debt of honour or gratitude to the producer and he fancied a paid vacation in Moscow.

Unfortunately, though, Police Academy 7 is a weary episode, tattily made and virtually a laugh-free zone, ending the series.

Also in the cast are series regulars Michael Winslow (Jones), David Graf (Tackleberry), Leslie Easterbrook (Captain Callahan), G W Bailey (Captain Harris), plus Charlie Schlatter as Cadet Connors and Claire Forlani as Katrina. George Gaynes’s wife Allyn Ann McLerie plays Irina Petrovskaya (uncredited) in her last film.

Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow runs 83 minutes, is produced and released by Warner Bros, is written by Michele S Chodos and Randolph Davis, is shot by Ian Jones, is produced by Paul Maslansky and scored by Robert Folk, with Production Design by Frederic C Weiler.

Michael Winslow (Jones), David Graf (Tackleberry) and George Gaynes (Commandant Lassard) are the only actors who appear in all seven Police Academy movies.

George Gaynes died on 15 February 2016 in North Bend, Washington, at the age of 98. Allyn Ann McLerie died on 21 May 2018 in North Bend, Washington, aged 91.

RIP Sir Christopher Lee (1922–2015).

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6945

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