Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. in ‘The Naked Gun’ from Paramount Pictures.
‘The Naked Gun’ receives 8.5 out of 10 stars.
Opening in theaters on August 1st is ‘The Naked Gun’, a sequel to –– and soft reboot of –– the spoof police movies that starred Leslie Nielsen.
With Liam Neeson as his character’s son, another cop whom chaos follows wherever he goes, the new movie is directed by ‘Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers’Akiva Schaffer and also stars Paul Walter Hauser (‘I, Tonya’), Pamela Anderson (‘The Last Showgirl’), Danny Huston (‘The Constant Gardener’) and CCH Pounder (‘Avatar’).
Related Article: Liam Neeson is in Talks To Star in New ‘Naked Gun’ Movie
Initial Thoughts
(L to R) Paul Walter Hauser plays Ed Hocken Jr. and Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. in ‘The Naked Gun’ from Paramount Pictures.
Comedy has been having a tough old time of it on the big screen of late. While veterans such as Adam Sandler has largely moved his output to Netflix or other streamers the genre has generally been seen as too unreliable (and worse, unprofitable) for theatrical release.
Thank goodness, then, for Liam Neeson and his particular set of skills, which in this case include making an absolute fool of himself while playing the role completely straight. And for the creative team behind the new ‘Naked Gun’ movie, who chose to channel, honor yet also meta comment on the film series (and ‘Police Squad’ TV show from where they were spawned) while making something that works.
Script and Direction
(L to R) Director Akiva Schaffer, Liam Neeson and Paul Walter Hauser on the set of ‘The Naked Gun’ from Paramount Pictures.
Written by Schaffer alongside Dan Gregor (‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’) and Doug Mand (‘How I Met Your Mother’) with acknowledgement to ‘Police Squad’ and original ‘Naked Gun’ creators David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker, the new movies’ screenplay largely follows the template established.
It’s a joke-a-minute formula as Neeson’s character acts like he’s in a normal cop thriller all the while getting so many things wrong.
Meanwhile, there are background jokes piled upon dialogue nonsense and so many running gags (such as Frank and his cop buddies constantly being handed coffee, even while in moving cars) that if you don’t laugh at one thing, another is along to tickle your funny bone before too long.
Being smart while playing dumb is a tough road to ride, and if the new ‘Naked Gun’ sometimes falls afoul of its own ambition, at least the ambition is there.
(L to R) Paul Walter Hauser, Director Akiva Schaffer and Liam Neeson on the set of ‘The Naked Gun’ from Paramount Pictures.
It doesn’t hurt that Schaffer is fully versed in directing comedy –– from his days as part of the Lonely Island trio on ‘Saturday Night Live’ to the underappreciated likes of ‘Hot Rod’ and ‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’, he knows when to dial things up and when to stand back and let a talented cast do their thing.
Also marshalling so much madness going on in each frame when required is not an easy task, and Schaffer and his fellow filmmakers manage it.
There are certainly beats that will be familiar to fans of executive producer Seth MacFarlane’s copious output, but this feels much more like classic ‘Naked Gun’ than anything such as ‘Family Guy’.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Danny Huston plays Richard Cane and Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. in ‘The Naked Gun’ from Paramount Pictures.
Like Leslie Nielsen before him, Liam Neeson has primarily been a dramatic actor (and, in the last couple of decades, an action star). But he’s also proved his comedy chops, working with MacFarlane and elsewhere.
His deadpan, wink-free delivery is a solid substitute for the way Nielsen played Frank Drebin and framing him as the officer’s son makes more sense than having Neeson play a rebooted Drebin himself.
Neeson throws himself into the role (and out a window at one point), and plays well off of everyone around him.
Likewise Pamela Anderson, who understands the assignment and makes for a great femme fatale with a vulnerable side, who is willing to throw herself into as ridiculous a moment as the filmmakers can dream up (witness her jazz-scatting as part of a distraction during one of Drebin’s investigation).
(L to R) Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. and Pamela Anderson plays Beth Davenport in ‘The Naked Gun’ from Paramount Pictures.
Likewise Danny Huston gives great smarm as the charismatic, conniving Richard Cane, an Elon Musk type with a dastardly plan. Even more than either of the leads, Huston is the straight man to the chaos around him, but late in the movie when he needs to show another side, he’s absolutely up for the challenge.
Paul Walter Hauser, meanwhile, was a great choice for Ed Hocken Jr. (son of George Kennedy’s character from the original movies), as he’s finely-tuned his ability to play it straight and yet also befuddled.
Around them, the likes of CCH Pounder (playing Drebin’s endlessly frustrated boss) and Kevin Durand (as Cane’s security chief who gets his own moment to shine) fill their roles perfectly.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Paul Walter Hauser plays Ed Hocken Jr. and Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. in ‘The Naked Gun’ from Paramount Pictures.
If the 2025 ‘The Naked Gun’ was a risk, it was one certainly worth taking. It may not always hit the heights of the ZAZ/Nielsen era, but it certainly comes close and it’s the funniest movie to be released in a long while.
Cleverly riffing on films such as ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Mission: Impossible’, it’s endlessly funny and wipes away the traumatic memories of the awful spoof era whose nadir was found in ‘Epic Movie’ and ‘Date Movie’.
Pundits gave the new movie a 50/50 chance of succeeding, but there was only a 10% chance of that. And yet, here comes ‘The Naked Gun’ to beat the odds.
“The law’s reach never stretched this far.”
Only one man has the particular set of skills…to lead Police Squad and save the world!
Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) follows in his father’s footsteps in… Read the Plot
What’s the story of ‘The Naked Gun’?
Only one man has the particular set of skills… to lead Police Squad and save the world!
Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) follows in his father’s footsteps in this new crime caper.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Naked Gun’?
- Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr.
- Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport
- Paul Walter Hauser as Ed Hocken Jr.
- Danny Huston as Richard Cane
- CCH Pounder as Chief Davis
- Kevin Durand as Sig Gustafson
- Liza Koshy as Detective Barnes
(L to R) Eddie Yu plays Detective Park, Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. and Paul Walter Hauser plays Ed Hocken Jr. in ‘The Naked Gun’ from Paramount Pictures.
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