THE NAKED GUN

The Naked Gun brings back rapturous laughter to the big screen with one of the funniest comedies in recent years to grace the big screen that with two pitch perfect performances from Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, which not only effortlessly captures the tone and gags of the beloved of the slapstick comedy series, but calls back to a style of comedy that Hollywood doesn’t make enough of anymore.

Film making trio David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker, more better known as ZAZ, were responsible for some of the goofiest comedies of the 1980s and 1990s with films like Airplane! and Top Secret! But, they are probably best known for The Naked Gun series starring the late Leslie Nielsen as Lieutenant Frank Drebin, a detective with a heart of gold and questionable intelligence. With Nielsen’s performance, the film trilogy led to incredibly goofy gags, literal punchlines that should never have been as funny as they were, and some of the funniest moments to ever grace the silver screen. In an era of Hollywood looking for the next legacy sequel, The Naked Gun was not the obvious choice to bring back for audiences as its comedic style feels dated in a landscape where films are too worried about being politically correct and appeasing everyone. But co-writer and director Akiva Schaffer and producer Seth MacFarlane cracked the case, capturing the hilarious tone of the Nielsen starring films while giving it a modern detective story, bursting with gags, punchlines and laughter galore, that when paired with the terrific work of Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson in the lead roles, delivers the comedy event of the summer movie season.

It is hard to truly capture the genius of ZAZ’s humour that encompassed the Nielsen starring The Naked Gun films in words, as it both simultaneously spoofed films and was full of slapstick comedy gags and literal humour, creating a signature feel to the films. But not only does the writing team behind the new The Naked Gun find that same comedic magic, they do so with a nice 2025 remix that is certain to have audiences bursting into laughter. Crafting a more hardened detective in Frank Drebin Jr. that fits Neeson’s action persona with a serious case to solve, while still setting him up for the same priceless comedic gags of his character’s father, there is both a seriousness and playfulness to the film. The literal jokes consistently land, including Anderson’s “take a chair” moment from the trailers, while the clever dialogue delivers so many laugh out loud moments from simple premises. From a physical comedy point of view, the gags are excellent, most notably the kitchen scene with Neeson and Anderson which may just be one of the funniest scenes of the entire year. While never vulgar or crass, the humour is incredibly silly and is never afraid to push the envelope with what is politically acceptable these days for comedy, though never in an offensive manner… you just won’t believe that the writers actually went there with a few of the jokes in the best way possible! And with a run time of eight-five minutes including credits, the humour never becomes tiresome or repetitive, utilizing every second of screen time to deliver a crowd pleasing comedy for audiences to laugh uncontrollably too.

While the writing is on point and does everything that fans of The Naked Gun series will want, the success of the humour rests squarely on the film’s lead cast. And with Neeson and Anderson at the film’s helm, every joke lands thanks to their committed performances. Neeson proves himself a bonafide comedic star with his straight delivery and convincing of every obtuse line of dialogue of Frank Jr.’s, channeling Nielsen’s onscreen demeanor in these moments, while differentiating Frank Jr. as a more action heavy lead who wants to respect his father’s legacy. Anderson continues her comeback tour after her critically acclaimed performance in The Last Showgirl, not only matching Neeson’s brilliant comedic timing, but consistently stealing the show. With an undeniable charm to her performance, combined with some truly over the top comedic moments (such as her outrageously hysterical jazz performance), Anderson never misses a beat. As a pairing, not only do Neeson and Anderson have great comedic timing that deliver some of the film’s best moments, but the romantic chemistry leaps off the screen and makes them one of the best on screen pairings of the entire year to date. Needless to say, hopefully The Naked Gun relaunches the franchise and leads to more films with Neeson and Anderson in these roles, as I could not get enough of them!

Much like its predecessors, while the main comedic gags are saved for the leads, every supporting cast member gets a great comedic moment throughout the film. Paul Walter Hauser is fun as Ed Hocken Jr., playing a more serious role than the goofy comedic supporting role audiences would suspect from him given his past resume, but he plays off Neeson’s comedic energy perfectly to amplify the hilarious chaos the Frank leaves in his wake. CCH Pounder is a lot of fun as Chief Davis, delivering some truly great moments with her chronically sleeping husband, while Danny Huston and Kevin Durand both work well in the comedic space and deliver worthy adversaries for Frank to go head to head with. And like any The Naked Gun, there are plenty of cameos to keep the laughs flowing, that both play tribute to the previous films and feature new comedic talents to join this series’ legacy.

Never has the phrase “so dumb” been a bigger complement than when used to describe the brilliance of the legacy sequel that is The Naked Gun. Capturing the tour de force comedic stylings of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and Leslie Nielsen, Akiva Schaffer and his writing team not only pay homage to the spoof, slapstick comedies of the 1980s and 90s with nonstop laughter, brilliant gags and jokes that won’t believe you heard in a 2025 film, but create one of the best comedies to grace the big screen in recent memory. And needless to say, a sequel is necessary to reunite the creative forces behind this film with Neeson and Anderson to keep the laughter going! With the outstanding and deadly funny lead performances of Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, every gag, punchline and literal meaning joke generates thunderous laughter that makes The Naked Gun not only one of the funniest films you will see this entire summer, but the best film in the series since the original!