Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr becomes a police officer like his legendary father and must save the police department from shutting down by solving a case.
Reviving a franchise like The Naked Gun is no small task. The original films were beloved for their relentless silliness, their deadpan delivery, and their complete disregard for logic. This 2025 entry understands that legacy and embraces it fully. What results is a comedy that hits and misses in equal measure, but never stops trying to get a laugh out of you.
Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr., son of the famously clueless detective played by Leslie Nielsen. Known for his serious, intense roles, Neeson may seem like an odd choice for such a broad comedy. But like Nielsen before him, Neeson makes it work by playing everything with absolute seriousness. The more ridiculous the scene, the more stoic his face becomes, and the funnier the whole thing is.
Pamela Anderson stars opposite him as Beth Davenport, a crime novelist and the film’s love interest. Wearing a trench coat and beret, she throws herself into the role with enthusiasm, balancing a self-aware sense of parody with complete commitment to the part. Their chemistry is surprisingly effective, grounded in how both actors fully buy into the madness of the story.
Speaking of story, there isn’t much of one. The plot is barely a thread, serving only as a vehicle for gags. Drebin Jr. finds himself entangled in a scheme involving a billionaire villain named Richard Cane, played with gleeful menace by Danny Huston. The plan involves a doomsday tech gadget called the P.L.O.T. Device, which threatens humanity in a vaguely defined but ominous way. It’s nonsense, of course, and that is entirely the point.
From the opening scene, where Neeson impersonates a schoolgirl during a bank heist, the film sets the tone clearly. It is silly. It is chaotic. And it does not care whether you think it has gone too far. Bodily function jokes, extended physical gags, and pun-heavy dialogue come fast and loud. Some land beautifully. Others fall flat. A few stretch on far too long. But the pace is relentless, so if a joke doesn't work, another one is seconds away.
The humor here feels exactly like something Seth MacFarlane would produce, and indeed, he did. Fans of Family Guy will feel right at home. The film is full of jokes that are proudly dumb, repeated too many times, or delivered with such commitment they eventually become funny out of sheer persistence. It is the cinematic equivalent of someone refusing to stop telling a joke until you laugh.
What saves the film from collapsing under its own nonsense is the sincerity of its performances. Neeson doesn’t parody Frank Drebin. He creates a new version who is still completely serious, still wildly, incompetently competent, and still hilarious. He is not doing a Nielsen impression, but he understands what made Nielsen’s performance work. The comedy comes from taking absolute absurdity with absolute gravity.
Anderson, too, deserves credit for throwing herself into the insanity. Her character doesn’t make much sense, and she often seems to drift between genres, but she plays it with such conviction that it works. Her presence brings a strange kind of heart to the film, and her scenes with Neeson feel genuine even when the world around them is collapsing into chaos.
Of course, not every part of the film lands. There are jokes that feel dated, sequences that drag, and moments where the film seems to be running in circles. At 85 minutes, it still somehow manages to feel a bit too long in places. Certain punchlines are repeated more than they should be, and some sketches feel like they were pulled from a rejected comedy special. But the movie never stops trying, and that effort gives it a strange charm.
There are moments of real laugh-out-loud hilarity. During my screening, the audience rarely laughed together at the same time, but someone was always laughing. That may be the film’s greatest strength. It casts such a wide comedic net that nearly everyone will find something that lands. Whether it is a physical pratfall, a ridiculous pun, or a clever bit of visual humor, there is something here for every type of comedy fan.
This is not a modern comedy in the typical sense. It does not rely on sarcasm, clever callbacks, or edgy one-liners. It feels more like a lost cousin of Airplane! or a series of Monty Python sketches stitched together by a threadbare plot. There is joy in that. It reminds us that not every comedy needs to be cool or clever. Sometimes it is enough to just be ridiculous.
For fans of the original trilogy, this film feels more like a tribute than a reboot. It honors the style and tone of Leslie Nielsen’s classic performances, but it does not try to copy them. It updates the formula without losing what made it work. It is dumb, yes. But it is a glorious kind of dumb. The kind that knows exactly what it is and never pretends to be anything else.
Neeson may never be as iconic in this role as Nielsen, but he brings his own kind of magic. He looks like he is having fun, even when he is playing a character who never cracks a smile. That commitment helps ground the film and gives it a core of sincerity that makes the chaos more enjoyable.
All in all, The Naked Gun delivers a mixed bag of comedy. Some gags hit hard. Others are total misses. But the sheer volume of jokes ensures there is never a dull moment. For anyone willing to turn off their brain and embrace the absurdity, there is plenty of fun to be had. It is not refined, and it certainly isn’t consistent, but it is undeniably entertaining.
This is a film built on chaos. And somehow, that chaos works.
The Naked Gun is being released in NZ cinemas from August 21, 2025.
Find your nearest screening here