Police Academy: Mission to Moscow

Police Academy: Mission to Moscow
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlan Metter
Written byRandolph Davis
Michele S. Chodos
Based on
Characters
by
Produced byPaul Maslansky
Starring
CinematographyIan Jones
Edited byDennis Hill
Suzanne Hines
Music byRobert Folk
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
  • June 17, 1994 (1994-06-17) (United Kingdom)
  • August 26, 1994 (1994-08-26) (United States)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Russian
Budget$10 million[1]
Box office$1.2 million

Police Academy: Mission to Moscow is a 1994 American action comedy film starring George Gaynes, Michael Winslow, David Graf, and Claire Forlani (in her feature film debut). It is the seventh and final installment in the Police Academy franchise to date, and sequel to Police Academy 6: City Under Siege. The film was directed by Alan Metter and written by Randolph Davis and Michele S. Chodos. George Gaynes, Michael Winslow and David Graf were the only three cast members to appear in all seven films.

Plot

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Russian mafia boss Konstantine Konali (Ron Perlman) is laundering money under the guise of a legitimate business: a highly addictive video game that allows him to bring down almost any security system controlled by a computer on which the game has been played, with a string of major robberies as the result.

Desperate to apprehend Konali, Russian Commandant Alexandrei Nikolaivich Rakov (Christopher Lee) sends for help from America. Rakov decides to bring in someone he met at a police convention, Commandant Eric Lassard (George Gaynes).

Lassard briefs his team about the mission in Russia, then they head to Moscow. Along with Lassard in Moscow are Sergeant Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), Sergeant Eugene Tackleberry (David Graf), Captain Debbie Callahan (Leslie Easterbrook), Cadet Kyle Connors (Charlie Schlatter), and Captain Thaddeus Harris (G. W. Bailey).

As they plan to capture Konali, he has devised a new scheme: to create an even more addictive version of the game, which can bring down any computer security system in the world, including the systems that protect the databases which belong to world powers.

Cast

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Main article: List of Police Academy characters

Officers on the Mission to Moscow

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The Russians

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Others

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Production

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The shooting of the film took place in Russia in the fall of 1993.[2] According to the behind-the-scenes featurette Underneath the Mission, included on the DVD release, this was one of the first American-produced comedy films to be allowed to film in post-Soviet Russia itself, with scenes filmed involving the Bolshoi Ballet, and on Red Square. Production was temporarily halted due to the October 1993 constitutional crisis and the damaged White House, Moscow is clearly visible in one scene. Despite the conflict, production was allowed to resume with one of the first scenes after the conflict being filmed at Moscow's airport. According to an interview with Michael Winslow, in the Underneath the Mission featurette, the scene where he performs bike tricks involved him wearing a wireless microphone in order to pick up his comedic sound effects. Unknown to the production crew, the frequency used by the microphone was the same as that used by the military, resulting in officials descending upon the film crew (though the incident ended on friendly terms, says Paul Maslansky).[3]

Reception

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Box office

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Mission to Moscow was released on June 17, 1994 in the United Kingdom on 211 screens and grossed £192,222 ($295,000) for the weekend, finishing in third place.[4] In Germany it was released on June 18, 1994 on 346 screens and grossed 1,212,651 Deutschemark ($734,940) finishing at the top of the box office in its opening 4-day weekend. In Sweden it was released the same week on 24 screens and finished in second place.[5] From the three territories, it grossed $1.11 million.[6] It did not see a wide release in the United States and Canada. Unlike all the other Police Academy films, Warner Bros. only released the picture in a token, limited run, grossing a scant $126,247 in the U.S. and Canada, making it the least successful movie in the series.[7][8]

Critical response

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On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 0% based on reviews from eight critics.[9] On Metacritic the film has a score of 11% based on reviews from 4 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[10] According to film historian Leonard Maltin, "If the United States and Soviet Union were still at odds, this film would make a great weapon...it could bore people to death."[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow (1994) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  2. ^ Eller, Claudia (1993-10-10). "Police Academy' Forced to Play by Moscow Rules". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  3. ^ "Underneath the Mission" (2004), a featurette included on the 2004 DVD release of Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, Warner Bros. Home Video
  4. ^ "UK top 15: June 17–19". Screen International. June 24, 1994. p. 62.
  5. ^ "International box office". Screen International. June 24, 1994. p. 60.
  6. ^ "International: Top grossing films June 16–22". Screen International. June 24, 1994. p. 1.
  7. ^ Variety Staff (1993-12-31). "Police Academy: Mission to Moscow". Variety. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  8. ^ "Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow (1994)". Box Office Mojo.
  9. ^ "Police Academy 7". Rotten Tomatoes.
  10. ^ "Police Academy 7". Metacritic.
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