REVIEW: The Naked Gun (2025)
Hello and Welcome to the All ‘80s Movies Reviews. Movie reviews where we discuss sequels and reboots generated from one of the freshest decades for movies… the 1980’s.
QUOTE: “I wasn't convinced Simon Davenport had been murdered, but the case was starting to give me an itch. And when I start to scratch, I don't stop till I break skin and the doctor makes me wear mittens.” – Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson)
That’s right readers, I am discussing with spoilers aplenty the legacy sequel ‘The Naked Gun.’ It was produced by Fuzzy Door Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The movie stars Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser and Danny Huston. This movie was written by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand and Akiva Schaffer and directed by Akiva Schaffer. It is rated PG-13 with a running time of 1 hour and 25 minutes. It is based on the television series ‘Polics Squad!’ created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker.
“What’s on the box?”
So, what is this movie about? If you grew up in the 1980’s and went to your local video store to rent this movie, you would probably find this description on the back of the VHS box.
“Only one man has the particular set of skills... to lead Police Squad and save the world! Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) follows in his father's footsteps in THE NAKED GUN, directed by Akiva Schaffer (Saturday Night Live, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) and from producer Seth MacFarlane (Ted, Family Guy). Joining the case are cast Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Cody Rhodes, Liza Koshy, Eddie Yu, with Danny Huston.”
Initial Thoughts:
I was genuinely surprised to hear they were making another ‘Police Squad!’ movie. The franchise had been losing steam at the box office, and after ‘The Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult,’ I figured Lt. Frank Drebin had holstered his badge for good. The two sequels never quite lived up to the original. They were half as funny and far less memorable.
But in Hollywood, you can never say never. At first, there were whispers of a fourth film with Leslie Nielsen returning in a reduced role, but after his passing, that idea was of course scrapped. Then came the announcement that Ed Helms would take over as Frank Drebin. Honestly, I didn’t think that would work. Ed’s already known for being a goofy comedic actor, and that energy doesn’t quite fit the deadpan charm that made Drebin so iconic.
Eventually, original series creator David Zucker and writer Pat Proft returned to rework the script, shifting the focus to Drebin’s son who was now a secret agent. It was an interesting twist, but it sounded like a mash-up of ‘Top Secret!’ and ‘Police Squad!.’ Then Seth MacFarlane was asked to join the project and cast Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. That caught my attention.
Like Leslie Nielsen before ‘Airplane!,’ Neeson is mostly known for his dramatic and action roles, so casting him against type had potential. When the first trailer dropped, I was cautiously optimistic. The “Son of Nordberg” joke got the biggest laugh from me, but more importantly, Neeson looked fully committed to the part. I was willing to give it a shot.
As with every Naked Gun film, don’t ask me what the plot is because it doesn’t matter. Although, in this case, there is a “P.L.O.T. Device.” The real surprise? Pamela Anderson. While her filmography isn’t exactly stacked with hits, she’s a delight here.
The film is packed with jokes: visual gags, running bits, and some sharp dialogue. Will the humor land for you? That’s the real question. Personally, I found parts of it more clever than laugh-out-loud funny. I kept thinking, “Okay, that’s smart,” rather than actually laughing. Maybe I was too focused on spotting the jokes instead of just enjoying them. Overall, I would put it on par with the other sequels.
Favorite Scenes or Moments:
- There is a running joke throughout the movie with coffee cups.
- Favorite dialogue exchange in the movie:
Frank Drebin Jr.: I was hoping you could let me take a look at your security footage.
Richard Cane: Oh. May I ask why?
Frank Drebin Jr.: Go right ahead.
- Frank (Liam Neeson) and Beth (Pamela Anderson) go on a weekend getaway. We find out during the movie that Frank’s ex-wife has passed away and he is not willingly to open himself up to love. That is until he meets Beth. At first Frank sees Beth as a hindrance to solve his case, but after she shows up to his apartment, Frank realizes he has feeling for her. So, the two of them head to a snowy cabin in the woods where things get interesting between them and a snowman that magically comes to life. The scene goes a little long but most of the jokes hit their mark. It’s an absurd scene so you just have to go with it.
-Frank (Liam Neeson) must talk Beth (Pamela Anderson) down. Near the end of the movie Frank has captured Richard Cane (Danny Huston) and is in the process of arresting him when Beth arrives, takes Frank’s gun and plans on shooting Richard for killing her brother. Frank tries to talk sense into Beth on why she shouldn’t do it, but every fourth sentence that comes out of Frank’s mouth is how gratifying it is to kill someone. We have some cliché’ moments on why Beth shouldn’t pull the trigger mixed in with a mixed message on how killing is awesome.
Swiss Cheese & Complaint Department:
- In the opening scene there is a bank robbery and outside are the police barricading the streets. We see a little girl slip through the barricade and head to the bank. The police just stand around and try to get the girl’s attention. Yes, we find out it’s Frank Drebin in disguise, but what cop would not risk his life to stop that girl from putting herself in danger? You could still play it for laughs and then it sells the danger the girl is stepping into more.
- The jokes and sight gags aren’t as frequent as the movie moves along. You notice a considerable drop off after the first act.
- There’s a scene where Richard Cane reveals his evil plan to his board of executives. One of them keeps interrupting with bizarre questions about a man with claw hands or something along those lines. If you’re writing a comedy and aiming for this kind of scene, remember: ‘Austin Powers’ set the standard. If you can't reach that level of sharpness or timing, scrap it. Find a different, better way to get the laugh.
“Hey, it’s that actor!” Here we spotlight a character actor you have seen in many other films, an actor making their big screen debut or an actor that makes an uncredited cameo.
Actor Kevin Durand who plays Sig Gustafson. Kevin was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He is of French-Canadian descent and is fluent in French. With his solid 6-foot-6-inch frame, Kevin fittingly played hockey in his youth, and put that experience to good use in one of his first significant film parts as "Tree" Lane in the sports-themed movie ‘Mystery, Alaska,’ (1999) starring Russell Crowe.
Kevin would turn to television with recurring roles in such shows as ‘Dark Angel,’ ‘Lost,’ ‘The Strain’ and ‘Vikings.’
As for movies, some of Kevin’s highlights include Booth in ‘Walking Tall’ (2004), Red in ‘Wild Hogs’ (2007), Jeeves Tremor in ‘Smokin' Aces’ (2006), Gabriel in ‘Legion’ (2010) and Officer Caruso in ‘Fruitvale Station’ (2013). He also starred in two other movies with Russell Crowe which include hired thug Tucker in the 2007 remake of ‘3:10 to Yuma’ and Little John in ‘Robin Hood’ (2010).
Durand married his longtime girlfriend Sandra Cho on October 1, 2010. They have two daughters.
Facts and Trivia:
- Pamela Anderson was offered to play Tanya in ‘Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult’ (1994), but she had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts. The role ended up going to Anna Nicole Smith.
- Both Priscilla Presley and 'Weird Al' Yankovic are the only actors to appear in all four films. For ‘Weird Al’ this was the third time he played himself. In ‘The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear’ (1991) he played an unnamed punk who gets knocked out by Frank Drebin opening the door on him.
- Akiva Schaffer revealed why he wrote only one O.J. Simpson joke in the film which is featured in the movie’s trailer, "To be honest, we never wrote another O.J. joke. We just went, 'Yep, that takes care of that,'" Schaffer says. "I didn't know that the joke would kill as hard as it did at our first test screening. If I had known that, then maybe I would've written other jokes. But you want to be respectful of everything that revolves around him, so it's not something I really took glee in. We just had to acknowledge it in a way we thought was not dancing on anybody's misfortunes."
- Even though the movie is set in Los Angeles principal photography began on May 6, 2024, in Atlanta under the working title “Law of Toughness,” and it wrapped on June 28.
Reviews:
Rotten Tomatoes currently gives it a Tomatometer score of 88% with a Popcornmeter Score of 73%. Its IMDB Rating currently stands at 6.7.
Additional Thoughts and Questions:
Will they make another one? This installment was moderately successful and actually became the highest-grossing film in the series (not adjusted for inflation). Still, Liam Neeson is 72 and though he certainly doesn’t look it, that raises questions about how much longer he can still play the role. The real test now is whether audiences will find it on streaming and give it a second life there.
Rating:
On a scale of one to five chilli cheese dogs, what do I give ‘The Naked Gun?’
2.5 Chilli Cheese Dogs
A lot of chuckles, but not a lot of laughs. Pamela Anderson is the stand out. She commits to her role and was a pleasant surprise. Leslie Neilsen just embodied the character of Frank Drebin and knew how to deliver a funny line with a deadpan, matter-of-fact delivery that is hard to replicate. I give credit to Liam Neeson for tackling the role and he has his moments.
Paul Walter Hauser feels underused, and Danny Huston doesn’t quite nail the balance needed to be a compelling straight man or villain to play off Drebin’s absurdity.
If you're a fan of the franchise, it’s worth a watch, but don’t expect it to match the original’s magic. Make sure to watch till after the credits.
I think that about wraps it up for this review. Thank you so much for reading. You can listen to our discussion of ‘The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad’ (1988) from Season 2 right here: https://www.all80smoviespodcast.com/the-naked-gun-from-the-files-of-police-squad-1988 Please take the time to follow our podcast on your preferred streaming platform, give us a review, and rate us.
Have an excellent rest of your day!
CAST:
Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr.
Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport
Paul Walter Hauser as Capt. Ed Hocken Jr.
Danny Huston as Richard Cane
CCH Pounder as Chief Davis
Kevin Durand as Sig Gustafson
Liza Koshy as Detective Barnes
Eddie Yu as Detective Park
Moses Jones as "Not Nordberg Jr."
Cody Rhodes as Bartender
Busta Rhymes as Bank Robber
