The current streak of revamped movies, such as James Gunn’s “Superman” and sequels showing in cinemas, is experiencing its brighter days, with new releases breaking box office records and earning high ratings. “The Naked Gun” (2025) does not fall short of other films, scoring points for its humour reminiscent of its predecessor from over 30 years ago.
The film follows Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson), son of the original Frank Drebin, and his time in the special division as an infamous detective of the Police Squad. Retaining the same noir and lawfully reckless cop attitude as his father, Frank’s utilisation of unconventional strategies often gets him into trouble with breaking codes of conduct, even if they prove to be successful.
The consequence? Reality. A run-in with bank robbers, which led them to sue Drebin for misconduct (and a few broken bones), got him demoted by his supervisor, Chief Davis (CCH Pounder), to handling a car crash involving a man named Simon Davenport. Unknowingly, Drebin gets mixed up in a series of connected cases involving Beth Davenport and possibly the fate of the world.
The casting of the main star of “The Naked Gun” sequel speaks volumes for the entire movie, with Liam Neeson honouring the original Frank Drebin role, played by Leslie Nielsen, as his son. The film is downright pun-ny and plays well into the stereotypical action film (down to the T), making it a fitting sequel to an already seasoned franchise.
This sequel brings in Akiva Schaffer as its director, who clearly has a good understanding of the original’s rapid-fire jokes and slapstick style, without copying the script word-for-word. It’s gimmicky comedy, sexual innuendos and cups of coffee that seem to pop out at any given time. Schaffer also applies his refreshing take by simply evolving the humour of the original creators, Jerry and David Zucker and Jim Abrahams, to have a modern flair.
In all its seriousness, the plot has the recipe for every stereotypical action film out there. The fate of the world hangs in the balance, and one guy has to save us all. The difference here? It’s out of touch and borderline insane characters who take everything a little bit too seriously, bringing about an almost cartoon-like feel to its humour.
Liam Neeson is the perfect candidate for Frank Drebin Jr., with his usual stoic nature bringing about dramatics for his dialogue, only to realise that he’s dropped the biggest poop joke of the film. The outright ludicrous actions, which beg viewers to question the authority of the police, are a running theme in the film, in which Neeson executes perfectly, looking at the nature of his past roles.
Pamela Anderson, who plays Frank’s love interest, Beth Davenport, proves to have great chemistry with Neeson on set, often inching towards jokes on wordplay, such as Drebin saying “Take a seat”, and she takes the chair with her. Leaning towards the stereotypical blonde bombshell trope, she glazes over the wacky script as if it makes perfect sense to her character, making her highly likeable to audiences.
Antagonist Richard Cane, played by Danny Huston, is portrayed to be a classic villain if he did it right. In most cases, directors gave him the air of a true villain, one to spark world-ending scenarios, but it falls quickly as he takes every single word quite literally to a fault. Huston plays this role just as greatly as Neeson’s portrayal of Frank Drebin, often with viewers taking him seriously with his portrayal of the dramatics. But trust us, he ain’t serious.
With all the positives given out, it’s tempting to rate “The Naked Gun” with a five out of five; however, we wish that with all its laughs and giggles, the movie fell short on its action sequence. It missed the mark on capturing the original’s wacky violence, such as Frank Drebin battling an actual militia tank during a shoot-out, often playing it safe on the violent bits of the movie, which we would like to see more of.
Overall, “The Naked Gun” (2025) is a stellar comedy sequel to an already well-achieved franchise. Director Akiva Schaffer does an amazing job at bringing this 20th-century film into the 21st century with refreshing jokes, while still retaining the base of the original. Despite playing it safe on the violent bits, the hits of the movie outweigh the misses, marking a great start to slapstick comedy.
Alyssa Gabrielle contributed to this article
