Movie Review "The Naked Gun" Lives Up to the Franchise’s Legacy
It's the funniest movie of the year.
By Angela Davis
CONTRIBUTOR
Leslie Nielsen has become well-regarded as one of the greatest comedy actors of all time. Since his hysterical deadpan performance in 1980’s Airplane!, the actor went on to make spoof movies his legacy until his death in 2010. Out of all his films, The Naked Gun has become his most well-known, because of his hilarious performance as Frank Drebin.
A reboot of the series seemed like something that would never work without him, but the latest entry proves that it's in great hands.
2025’s The Naked Gun starts the franchise from scratch as Frank Drebin’s son, as Frank Drebin Jr. (played by Liam Neeson) takes up his father’s mantle. After being forced to work a smaller job following a disastrous response to a robbery, Drebin Jr. slowly begins to realize a major plot to upend world peace is underway.
The plot for the new Naked Gun is simple, but this isn’t unexpected. The series was never really known for its storylines. Instead, what made the original Naked Gun a hit was its sense of humor. Thankfully, the newest film brings back the comedy of the franchise in full force.
There are jokes flying in all directions throughout this film. Similar to the spoof movies of the 80s and 90s, it’s a nonstop barrage of gags that keeps the audience laughing. If a gag in the foreground doesn’t hit, there’s always something happening in the background that will likely get a chuckle before the next one hits. It’s classic Naked Gun humor on full display as the story plays itself seriously with nonstop silliness happening around it.
Of course, none of this would work nearly as well if the film had been unable to find an actor to recreate the charm of Nielsen's classic character. Thankfully, Liam Neeson delivers, with one of his funniest performances of all time. He perfectly encapsulates the neo-noir demeanor of the original Frank Drebin, whose habit of taking everything at face value that made his character so ridiculous. Plus, with Liam Neeson’s background as a tough and gritty action star, his line deliveries hit even harder.
By all accounts, this is a comedy that shouldn’t have worked. Leslie Nielsen made this role his own in the original trilogy, so it could have been a difficult task to reboot the series without him. However, director Akiva Schaffer found a way, and it has resulted in the best Naked Gun film since the original. Fans of the original, or those just looking for a good laugh, will be incredibly surprised by this new entry, and it’s a much-needed revival of the spoof genre after years of dreadful imitators.
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