Dir: Akiva Schaffer
Cast: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand
With a gravelly-voiced Liam Neeson taking over from the iconic, and similarly named Leslie Nielsen, this hilarious and fittingly silly “Naked Gun” reboot may help revive the long dormant spoof subgenre
In 1980, serious dramatic actor Leslie Nielsen reinvented himself as one of the all-time comedy legends with his hilarious role in the hit spoof comedy “Airplane!”. The beloved comedy parodied the popular disaster film genre of the 1970s, drawing particularly from the “Airport” series of films. “Airplane!” subsequently ushered in a new era of spoof comedy, which creators Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker would largely oversee for the best part of two decades.
Following the critical and financial success of “Airplane!”, the Zucker-Abrahams team produced the ill-fated spoof television series “Police Squad!” which first introduced audiences to Nielsen as Lt. Frank Drebin. Despite its early cancellation after just six episodes, “Police Squad!” garnered a cult following over the years, prompting the creators to produce a feature-length instalment titled “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” with Nielsen reprising his role as Drebin. Still regarded today as some of the greatest and funniest comedy films of all time, “The Naked Gun” trilogy elevated the spoof subgenre to new heights, inspiring many other projects throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with Nielsen became a cultural icon thanks to his impeccable comedic timing and deadpan humour.
Some of the last projects that the creative force behind “The Naked Gun” franchise worked on were the “Scary Movie” films, created by the Wayans Brothers in the early to mid-2000s. Despite some initial success, this franchise experienced a rapid decline in quality, which, coupled with the critically panned parody films from Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, ultimately led to the demise of what was once a fruitful subgenre. In fact, comedy films have struggled in recent years, with Hollywood studios becoming increasingly apprehensive about funding big-budget comedy titles. This has resulted in some of the industry’s greatest comedic talents signing exclusive deals with streaming giants like Netflix and Apple TV+.
At a time when the world could benefit from some light-hearted comedic escapism, the long-dormant spoof comedy genre may be making a comeback. Paramount Pictures has released a legacy sequel, more than thirty years after the last instalment. Tasked with the daunting challenge of replacing the iconic Leslie Nielsen is the similarly named Liam Neeson, which could serve as a gag in itself. Like his predecessor, Neeson’s career has undergone significant reinvention. He was primarily known for his title role in Steven Spielberg‘s “Schindler’s List” back in 1993, and after a series of additional dramatic roles, the Northern Irish actor unexpectedly transitioned into a hard-boiled action hero with the release of “Taken” in 2008. While he has often been typecast since then, Neeson has occasionally showcased his comedic talent, working with Seth MacFarlane from time to time, who serves as producer on this 2025 reboot of “The Naked Gun”.
Neeson stars as Frank Drebin Jr., who has followed in his father’s footsteps to become a Lieutenant in the LAPD Police Squad. When Frank’s over-the-top law enforcement tactics during a bank robbery become a legal liability, he and his partner, Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser), are reassigned. During their new assignment, they stumble upon the fatal car crash of software engineer Simon Davenport. Initially ruled as a suicide, Simon’s sister, crime novelist Beth (Pamela Anderson), is convinced that her brother’s death was actually a murder. She points suspicion towards Simon’s wealthy employer, tech guru Richard Cane (Danny Huston), and the newly enamoured couple continue their investigation.
It was always going to be a challenge for any actor to take over the role of Frank Drebin from Leslie Nielsen in a “Naked Gun” movie, but Liam Neeson proves to be an inspired choice. Much like Nielsen, he plays the film incredibly straight, regardless of how silly the situations become. While he occasionally hams up the humor a bit too much, I can’t think of anyone better suited to take over the Drebin mantle at the fictitious Police Squad. Neeson has showcased his deadpan humor before, most famously in his memorable cameo in Seth MacFarlane’s “Ted 2”, where he aggressively questions the titular talking bear about the legalities of an adult consuming Trix cereal. But the biggest reassurence I found following Neeson’s casting is his small role in Ricky Gervais‘ “Life’s Too Short”. In the mockumentary series, various actors portrayed fictionalised versions of themselves, with Neeson’s performance being a stand out as he attempts to pursue a career in stand-up comedy, despite his dark and serious sense of humor.
It’s also great to see Pamela Anderson continuing her career resurgence after delivering one of my personal favourite performances of the past year in “The Last Showgirl”. While this may be a departure from her emotional and personal leading role in Gia Coppola‘s drama, Anderson seamlessly takes over from Priscilla Presley as the ditzy but capable love interest.
Clocking in at barely 80 minutes, “The Naked Gun” will be one of the shortest films you’ll see in theaters for a long time, as it has almost become the industry standard for films to exceed two hours, regardless of the genre. Despite its brief runtime, writer-director Akiva Schaffer of The Lonely Island fame manages to cram countless sight gags, background jokes, crude humor, and more into the film. One of the great things about successful spoof films is that the jokes are so relentless that even if you don’t find one funny, the next one is only a few seconds away. While there are a couple of jokes that miss the mark, including some lengthy and overly silly ones involving a living snowman and Drebin’s irritable bowels, the humour is mostly spot on and in keeping with the original titles.
Like the three films that came before it, “The Naked Gun” offers very little in terms of plot or character development due to its sole goal of making the audience laugh as much and as often as possible. Therefore, it’s hard to complain about plot issues here, especially when the main MacGuffin is literally called the P.L.O.T. device. Where the jokes and some elements of the narrative do shine is in their parody of more contemporary titles, with major films like “Mission: Impossible” and “The Kingsman” notably receiving the spoof treatment, allowing the dated subgenre to remain fresh and relatable to modern audiences.
The biggest positive of “The Naked Gun”, though, is that it seems studios are willing to invest in big-screen comedies again. Hopefully, the critical and financial success of this legacy reboot, along with the upcoming releases of “Scary Movie 6” and “Spaceballs 2”, will lead to a resurgence of the spoof subgenre in the pop culture zeitgeist.
The Verdict:
“The Naked Gun” is undeniably one of the funniest you’ll see this year. Its relentless and absurd humor provides a refreshing change in an industry that has been lacking big-budget comedies. Let’s hope that spoof comedies can finally make a long-awaited comeback.
Dan Loves Film 
Nice review.
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Thanks
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As a HUGE fan of Police Squad, the original Naked Gun films and of course the hilarious films Airplane and Kentucky Fried Movie, so happy to see that the Zucker brothers legacy has been handled so well!
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