It’s always hard to reboot a beloved classic even a stupid fun comedy like the Naked Gun movies. Hey, I love the first three movies with Leslie Nielsen, but let’s be honest, they’re a bit idiotic in a good way. Trying to recreate these movies without Leslie Nielsen is not an easy thing to do. Maybe the franchise should have died with him, but I have to admit after seeing Liam Neeson’s take on the character in Naked Gun… yes, give me more movies. And to be clear this isn’t an actual reboot, it is a sequel to the first three movies which is the best way to do it. Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. And he’s fantastic! I didn’t know what to expect with this movie. I didn’t know if the jokes would land or it would just be a rehash of the old movies, but it worked. Maybe not every joke truly landed, but the film itself worked and left open the possibility of sequels. I was pleasantly surprised. You don’t often think of Liam Neeson being able to do comedy, but he’s great at it just like Leslie Nielsen and don’t forget, Leslie Nielsen was a dramatic actor before he did comedy. Liam Neeson taps into the power of Leslie Nielsen with his deadpan comedic tone and he nails it. Plus Pamela Anderson was great and she deserves a hit after getting an Oscar snob in 2024 for her standout performance in the Last Show Girl.
What makes the movie work is it follows the same formula as the old police squad show and the Naked Gun movies. Clearly the writers took the same model and made it their own. Plus if you’re still not convinced that Liam Neeson can do deadpan comedy, go back and watch his cameo in the movie Ted 2 where he’s buying a box of Trix! All I’m going to say is he’s good and it clearly shows in this movie. In a lot of ways, I like Pamela Anderson more than Priscilla Presley. True it’s been hard to take Pamela Anderson serious in the past after very public controversial marriages, sex tapes, and some of the B-quality movies that she has done like Barb Wire. However, she was actually really good on Baywatch even if the writers didn’t give her much to work with being the big breasted blonde bombshell on the show. To say she was typecast is an understatement! But she’s funny and the chemistry with Leslie Nelson clearly shows in this film. Paul Walter Houser plays a great Ed Hocken Jr. And let’s face it he’s always funny in anything he does. The cast was really good and their comedic performances make this movie better than it should be. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure about the entire cast when this movie was announced, but I’m glad that all my reservations were put to rest.
The new Naked Gun is not a perfect comedy. The plot is a little janky and borderline ridiculous. I believe that the plots were more believable in the original movies, but the subplot of an old school cop having to deal with technology is fantastic. Then again these are movies where the plot doesn’t have to make sense…it’s all about the comedy. There are a lot of jokes that don’t land and aren’t that funny, but there are some really great jokes that will have you rolling on the floor. The Bill Cosby joke is probably the best in my opinion. While this movie can never replace the originals with Leslie Nielsen, I will say that it does a good enough job to make us want more Naked Gun movies especially since it’s more of a sequel than a reboot. Plus there’s a great homage to the original characters and even a really funny joke about OJ Simpson. You probably saw it in the trailer. Can this be the start of a new Naked Gun franchise… yes, I believe it should be. And with the chemistry between Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, we can get some really ridiculously fun movies that don’t take away from the Leslie Nielsen films. My verdict… The new Naked Gun is a winner and yes worth seeing in the theater. It’s not perfect or even as good as the originals and doesn’t have to be… the movie is still really funny!
