The Naked Gun (2025)

​“The Naked Gun” stars Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand, and Danny Huston.  Released on August 1, 2025, the film has Frank Drebin’s son solving a murder case.

The film was directed by Akiva Schaffer, who also directed films such as “Hot Rod”, “The Watch”, “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping”, and “Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers”.  It is the fourth installment in the “Naked Gun” franchise.  To tackle the never-ending sea of crime, it’s often wise to rely on the best of the best among law enforcement officials.  However, these enforcers may not be as capable for the job as we usually thought, as the only crime they struggle to end was providing satirical chaos everywhere they go.  Parody films were pretty much all the rage back in the 1980s, offering audiences a blend of unorthodox, surreal, and ironic humor that lampooned the classic tropes that define our cinematic classics.  Some of the key figures who played a role in that success were Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker, whose inventive visual gags, slapstick comedy, parody, and clever fourth-wall breaks made them standout names in the genre.  Their ingenuity resulted in iconic works like “The Kentucky Fried Movie”, “Airplane!”, “Top Secret!”, and the topic of this review, “The Naked Gun”.

“The Naked Gun” originated as a short-lived television series titled “Police Squad”, which aired on ABC in 1982.  This series parodied police procedurals and featured Leslie Nielsen as a generous yet clumsy detective who attempts to solve cases amid his comical mishaps.  Despite only six episodes airing before its cancellation, it transitioned into a successful film series, beginning with “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” in 1988.  Unfortunately, the comedy franchise dwindled following the cancellation of the fourth film due to creative differences and the passing of Leslie Nielsen and Jim Abrahams.  This decline can also be attributed to the audience’s waning interest in the parody genre, sparked by the influx of terrible spoof movies from Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, which lacked the witty and dumb charm that initially made the genre beloved.  That is, until The Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer takes on the challenge of bringing the Police Squad out of retirement, marking Hollywood’s latest effort to rekindle people’s nostalgia for the '80s and '90s.  Was this cinematic case worth investigating for both fans and newcomers, or should this squad remain in retirement?  Let’s find out.

The story centers on Frank Drebin Jr. (Neeson), a detective lieutenant in Police Squad and the son of the late Frank Drebin.  Alongside his captain, Ed Hocken Jr. (Hauser), Frank tackles an important murder case that could restore the squad’s reputation.  This investigation leads him to meet the victim’s sister, Beth Davenport (Anderson), igniting a romantic connection between the two.  As Frank encounters numerous challenges and comical blunders, he is determined to honor his father’s legacy by solving the case and thwarting a nefarious plot that would unleash global hysteria.

Comedy movies are usually my cup of tea, mainly because I like to laugh at silly antics when executed well.  That also includes parody films that cleverly poke fun at specific genre clichés, such as “The Naked Gun”.  I occasionally watch the “Naked Gun” trilogy whenever I have nothing else to watch, and they still hold up well thanks to Leslie Nielsen’s comedic brilliance as Frank Drebin.  May he rest in peace.  That experience alone was enough to spark my interest in the latest installment, which promised the outrageousness and slapstick humor we expect from the series.  But, of course, as far as we’re aware, the comedy genre largely depends on people’s tastes, be it black comedy, parody, or other styles.  Lately, our perspectives on humor have been shifting significantly, to the point where nearly any joke can be deemed offensive, inappropriate, or overly stupid.  Consequently, the new “Naked Gun” film faced an uphill battle with this change, especially as it sought to revive the parody genre.  Fortunately, it managed to gun down those concerns and came out on top in the cinematic comedy realm.

“The Naked Gun” was an unapologetically silly and cleverly satirical comedy that truly grasped why the subgenre resonated so well during the '80s and '90s.  While the spoof films from Friedberg and Seltzer were capable of satirizing themselves and other movies, they also went overboard with their crude natures, heavily relying on gross-out jokes and cringy references that were more painful than funny.  I should know, because I was one of the people who experienced them firsthand.  For parody movies like “The Naked Gun” and “Airplane!”, the key to success lies in the balance between verbal wit, visual gags, and irony.  These films need to be clever enough to remain charmingly funny, even when some of the jokes are stretched thin, compensating for any underdeveloped narrative elements that arise in between.  It’s movies like these that remind people what it’s like to escape from the outside world and laugh at the absurdities without taking things too seriously all the time.  The new iteration of “Naked Gun” easily captured this essence, successfully reviving that nostalgic feeling with its rapid-fire humor and endearing silliness.

Some might liken “The Naked Gun” to a live-action episode of “Family Guy”, given Seth MacFarlane’s role as producer.  While there were moments that reflect this influence, it’s not technically MacFarlane’s movie.  Instead, the task of reviving the Police Squad fell to Akiva Schaffer, who also brings his wealth of experience in meta-humor.  Honestly, I knew that Schaffer would be the ideal choice in reviving “The Naked Gun”, as he had impressed me with his improvement in balancing the goofy appeal with meta-humor, particularly for “Popstar” and “Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers”.  I’m happy to say that Schaffer managed to meet my expectations of how a parody movie should function.  He embraced the surrealism and deadpan humor intrinsic to the franchise while also respecting the structure of its predecessors.  He knew it was absurd and most elements don’t make any sense, but he just went along with it anyway, enhancing my enjoyment altogether.  The film’s pacing, with a commendable 85-minute runtime, ensured that no comedic segment felt overly drawn out or too brief, maintaining a balanced tone that neither overwhelmed the audience with unnecessary baggage nor left them wanting more.  “The Naked Gun” stood out as another testament to Akiva Schaffer’s adept approach to making fun of some foolish moments through his well-crafted humor, all while exposing its tough-to-swallow topics in a light-hearted and amusing manner.

Another important question to consider is whether the parodic jokes in this legacy sequel made me laugh as much as those in previous entries.  The answer is a resounding “absolutely”.  If you’ve seen the “Naked Gun” movies, you’ll know that this installment never slowed down with its sense of irony through visual gags, sexual innuendos, slapstick, and clever fourth-wall breaks.  Essentially, it resembles a live-action cartoon, embracing the absurdity of its premise with wit and charm.  Its screenplay, written by Schaffer, Dan Gregor, and Doug Mand, was replete with humor that was delightfully silly and consistently hilarious from start to finish, especially the one gag featuring O. J. Simpson, a familiar face from the earlier films.  It was amusing from the trailers, and it remained so in the final cut.  It’s also one example of Schaffer’s capabilities in satirizing infamous topics that lived rent-free in our minds without crossing the line in its quips.  Unsurprisingly, the humor was fun enough to overlook most of the film’s half-baked ideas, particularly Frank’s attempt to uphold his bumbling yet honorable father’s legacy despite their reputations.  If you’re hoping for “The Naked Gun” to have a sense of sentimentality and depth in its characters and themes, I’m sorry to say that this may not be the movie for you.  It’s a parody that prioritized injecting comedic irony into police detective tropes over delivering an award-worthy narrative, and in that respect, it excelled.  It may not have a story worthy of building upon the depth of the new generation of Police Squad, but it did honor the franchise’s parodic roots by highlighting the elements that made the previous installments work.  As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

The other element that significantly enhanced my enjoyment of the film was Liam Neeson, who portrays the son of Leslie Nielsen’s iconic protagonist.  Obviously, Liam Neeson is considered a man of action, primarily when referring to his recent copy-and-paste thrillers, which we get every year.  However, there have been occasions where he ventured beyond that comfort zone to embrace outside-type roles in different genres, including comedy.  Neeson is undoubtedly no stranger to playing characters that test his comedic chops, particularly in his past collaborations with Seth MacFarlane, and he’s proven to be surprisingly funny in them regardless of the scripts he’s been given.  His performance in “The Naked Gun” was no exception, and I would argue it stands as one of his finest comedic portrayals, if not the best I’ve seen from him in a long time.  Neeson adeptly plays a parodic version of his action-hero persona, which serves as a remarkable asset in embodying the endearingly awkward detective who follows in his father's less-than-brilliant footsteps.  He was absolutely hilarious with his impeccable comedic timing.  With the possibility of Neeson stepping away from the action genre, this transition could offer him the opportunity to explore more comedic endeavors, which I don’t mind if that were to be true.  Pamela Anderson and Paul Walter Hauser also had their share of amusing moments as Beth Davenport, Frank’s love interest, and Ed Hocken Jr., respectively.  Although their humor did not reach the same level of hilarity as Neeson’s portrayal of Frank, the supporting cast was able to sustain my interest until Neeson does something silly again.

Overall, “The Naked Gun” is a refreshingly hilarious comeback that shoots down middling expectations to revive the comedy franchise’s dimwittedly charismatic legacy and the parody subgenre.  Regarding its story, the film’s ideas can be overshadowed by its abundance of ironically amusing randomness, and its genre formula, which it satirizes, remains rooted in its tried-and-true murder crime case.  However, as mentioned before, it’s not something that should be taken too seriously, and that is the film’s greatest strength in delivering a highly entertaining and delightfully foolish legacy sequel that’s worth introducing to a new generation.  Almost all of the parodic jokes land in a hilariously clever fashion, mainly due to Liam Neeson’s standout comedic performance and Akiva Schaffer’s adept direction of satirical humor and light-hearted slapstick.  It has been a while since I last watched the trilogy, but I would say it’s almost in the same league as the first “Naked Gun” film in terms of satirical humor and a straightforward yet enjoyable plot.  If you appreciated the previous “Naked Gun” movies for what they were or are looking for something silly to laugh at to escape from the outside world’s humorless nature, you’ll likely enjoy this legacy sequel as well.  Of course, it’s also definitely worth experiencing with a similarly minded audience, especially in the theater, given the current pattern of comedies going straight to streaming.

B+