MOVIE REVIEW - "The Naked Gun" (2025)

The new version of “The Naked Gun” lives up to the original three films as a slapstick action comedy. The movie stars Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Leslie Nielsen’s character from the original movies. That makes this movie a legacy sequel set in the same film series and not a hard reboot.

In the movie, Frank, along with his partner Captain Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser), must stop a diabolical billionaire, Richard Cane (Danny Huston), from throwing the world into chaos. Meanwhile, he also finds himself falling for Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), the sister of someone who may have been killed by Richard who is seeking revenge.

The only real criticism here is that this is the type of comedy that’s going to throw jokes at you constantly from every direction. That means that some of them have soft landings or don’t land at all. It’s inevitable in this kind of movie but that’s the only bad news.

Liam Neeson is Frank Drebin Jr. in "The Naked Gun".

For movies like this, you really just want the majority of the jokes and gags to work and they certainly do in this movie. Neeson is also great as Drebin Jr. as he plays the role mostly with a deadpan straight face and this only lets the jokes hit harder much in the same way that Nielsen used his signature deadpan humor to get the point across in the prior films.

Neeson’s chemistry with Anderson is also present and it is just as good as the chemistry between Nielsen and Priscilla Presley. Huston also does a great job as an over-the-top villain that is suitable for this type of movie.

There’s not really much more to say than that without going into spoiler territory. Audiences have been desperate for a good comedy that truly makes you laugh out loud. Sure, there have been some okay comedies here and there, both on the big screen and on streamers, but nothing that you would want to go home and write about.

Thankfully, if laughter is the best medicine, “The Naked Gun” is just what the doctor ordered and if you get the chance, I say go see it in theaters and give yourself about 85 minutes worth of slapstick comedy joy!