In this modern reboot of The Naked Gun (itself an adaptation of a failed sitcom its creators had worked on), we follow Frank Drebin’s son, Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson). He finds he’s taken dear old dead dad’s place in The Police Squad, and it’s a role that fits him well and he enjoys. Frank Jr’s latest assignment finds him pursuing evil billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston), who has created a device capable of destroying human civilization.
The Naked Gun is directed and co-written by Akiva Schaffer, of comedy troupe ‘The Lonely Island’ fame. Unfortunately, this is not a Lonely Island’s film. Schaffer’s co-writers are Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, who had previously penned ‘Most Likely To Murder’, ‘Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers’ with help from Akiva Schaffer, and ‘Dolittle’ with help from Stephan Gaghan. The plot and story act as more of a vehicle for the jokes, humor, and comedy. The characters get minimal development. Nothing is taken seriously, everything is potential for a joke.
Schaffer, Gregor, and Mand approach The Naked Gun with a throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks mentality. Comedy is subjective, but for myself most of the jokes in this didn’t land. Luckily, the ones that do work (by my account around less than two handfuls) are some of the funniest moments of the year. There’s also the occasional gag that felt like The Lonely Island’s style of humor. This is a rare movie where some of the best moments aren’t ruined by the trailers.
The Naked Gun has a surprisingly stacked cast. Liam Neeson has fun mocking himself and his Hollywood image as Frank Drebin Jr. You would never expect Liam Neeson to star in a film like this. It’s surreal, but he appears to be having a good time on set. To Neeson’s credit, most of the jokes that work involve him.
Pamela Anderson is essentially co-lead as Beth Davenport, a “true crime novelist who bases her stories on real cases she made up.” She gets to essentially act as femme fatale for a decent chunk of run time before switching gears to unofficial partner to Frank Jr. Pamela Anderson still looks as beautiful as ever, and she manages to surprise here with a solid grip on her comedic moments. She is very funny, and would continue to make a good co-lead in potential future installments.
Prolific character actor CCH Pounder plays Chief Davis, the no-nonsense police chief for The Police Squad. Most of her scenes involve her being frustrated with/angry at Frank Drebin Jr. Davis is meant to be poking fun at the police chief archetype, and CCH Pounder gets the assignment. She is a lot of fun, and is one of the more memorable side characters.
Kevin Durand continues to impress with his film roles. In The Naked Gun he plays Sig Gustafson, Richard Cane’s dim-witted partner-in-crime. He’s mostly called on to react to a few of Frank Jr’s antics, but his reactions are funny as hell. Durand is another highlight.
Paul Walter Hauser plays Ed Hocken Jr, partner to Frank Jr. . Ed is a competent, good-natured, but clumsy guy. He’s in the proceedings a good deal, but isn’t given a whole lot to do. That said, it’s always good to see Paul Walter Hauser on screen.
Danny Huston is Richard Cane, the evil billionaire. He gets some comedic moments, but is generally played more serious or straight. Huston is fine in the role, but doesn’t leave much of an impression. It’s interesting to note that his big bad plan sounds alarmingly similar to Samuel L. Jackson’s in Kingsman: The Secret Service.
The Naked Gun was shot on a budget of forty-five million dollars, and it shows. The film looks and feels like it was low-budget/direct-to-streaming. The good news is, what this flick lacks in budget it more than makes up for in heart. Another positive is that, excluding credits, the proceedings only run around an hour and 15 minutes long. There is a post-credits scene, but it’s not worth waiting the extra minutes for.
The Naked Gun is a true throwback to David Zucker films of old, movies like the ‘Scary Movie’ franchise (mostly ‘Scary Movie 3’ and later), ‘Superhero Movie’, ‘Airplane!’, and of course ‘The Naked Gun’ films. It successfully replicates the style, tone, and spirit of one of Zucker’s films or their knock-offs. We haven’t had a film like this in theaters in at least nine years. For those that grew up with the spoof/parody movies of the 2000s - 2010s, this reboot might hold an odd, nostalgic charm.
The Naked Gun 2025 is a mixed bag. The humor tends to go for the dumb and crass (some might say lazy), but there are some genuinely hilarious scenes here. Some of the bits that work rank among the funniest moments of 2025. While your mileage will vary, The Naked Gun 2025 gets enough right. It’s a reboot that works.
3.5 STARS
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