There’s an art to being stupid and a real beauty to well-executed idiocy - and the new Naked Gun gets that principle, deeply and truly. Director Akiva Schaffer (Hot Rod, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) and writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (2022's Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers) have resurrected the long-dormant franchise after three decades with the kind of unrelenting, no-holds-barred silliness that makes it feel like a lost relic from a very much missed comedy era.
But that’s not to say it’s outdated. In fact, The Naked Gun (2025) feels like one of the most energized and contemporary major studio comedies in years - not just because it manages to stay relevant, but because it remembers what these movies are supposed to do: make you laugh. Over and over again.
It’s rare these days to get a wide theatrical comedy with this kind of budget and production value behind it. Rarer still is one this committed to pure, unfiltered gag work. This is a movie where every single moment - every line, every camera movement, every prop in the background - is loaded with a joke. Some of them will land, some of them won’t, but the hit rate is high and the density is ridiculous. There’s a certain point where the sheer volume of the comedy just overwhelms you. You’re gonna laugh, whether you like it or not.
The legendary Liam Neeson stars as Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr., son of the original bumbling detective played by the incomparable Leslie Nielsen. And while Neeson isn’t thankfully doing a Nielsen impression, his casting works shockingly well. That gravelly voice, that deathly serious action-star demeanor he’s settled into over the past decade - it’s exactly the kind of committed performance that makes straight-faced absurdity sing.
He’s a great deadpan comedic force, but still somehow fully involved in the nonsense, often physically so. It’s the same trick that made Nielsen’s performances so iconic, and Neeson doesn’t miss a step.
Pamela Anderson (fresh off the excellent The Last Showgirl) is a standout here too, playing Beth Davenport, a bestselling “true crime” author who pulls Frank into a personal murder investigation. There’s a clear reverence for Priscilla Presley’s original role in Anderson’s dryly innocent delivery, but she also gets to cut loose in a sillier direction than her predecessor was ever afforded that works surprisingly well.
Her presence isn’t just for stunt casting - she’s extremely funny, and I wish the film gave her even more room to play outside of her handful of scenes. Paul Walter Hauser (The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Richard Jewell), meanwhile, is criminally underused as Captain Ed Hocken Jr., but even in his limited screen time, he still manages to get memorable laughs in.
The plot is, thankfully, pretty much pure nonsense. There’s an apparent accident turned murder investigation turned conspiracy involving smart phone pulse signals a la Stephen King’s Cell, as well as a whole lot of running gags, puns, pratfalls, and ridiculous set pieces jammed into it all. Naturally, that’s the point. Schaffer and his team take expected detective and police action tropes and blow them out in every direction, pushing scenes to their comedic breaking point.
There’s classic bits - like the good ol' "shadow sex silhouette" gag - and more modern inventions, like a bomb-defusal sequence that features a pair of annoyingly unskippable ads before any buttons can be pushed or wires cut. There’s even a snowman-involved detour that deserves to live in the comedy hall of fame.
What’s most impressive is that The Naked Gun doesn’t give away its best jokes in the trailers. There’s a restraint there (a confidence, really) that pays off. You can tell this team trusts their audience to come for the expected laughs and stick around for the surprise tears-down-your-face jokes. It’s a rare feat in the modern comedy landscape, where most trailers sadly give away the entire punchline (and then some) in their advertising and marketing. This one plays its cards right.
The esteemed Danny Huston, of all people, walks away with some of the film’s biggest laughs as tech mogul villain Richard Cane. While previous Naked Gun antagonists were mostly serviceable foils for Frank’s antics, Huston is let off the leash here and chews into his scenes with relish. He’s so good, so delightfully evil and stupid, that he becomes a comedy centerpiece in his own right. It’s not just about setting up the hero and his romantic interest - Cane gets plenty of punchlines of his own, and they’re some of the sharpest in the whole movie.
The jokes range from topical to juvenile to blissfully absurd. There are digs at police overreach and racial discrimination followed by diarrhea jokes seconds later. Noir-narrating cops, self-driving cars, chili dogs, Mission: Impossible, witchcraft, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, freeform jazz, the Black Eyed Peas' greatest hits - it’s a kitchen sink approach, but the film gets away with it because the franchise has always been rooted in that “anything goes” mentality. Schaffer, Gregor, and Mand understand that better than anyone. Their previous collaboration on the Disney+ original Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers showed the same rapid-fire sensibility, and this feels like a natural continuation with an even more stacked cast of A-listers.
Is it as good as the original? Well, no. But how could it be? And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t have any strong nostalgic attachment to it or the Police Squad! TV show. The 1988 film is a true definition of a gold standard; an untouchable classic of comedic timing and tone and casting. But this new installment doesn’t embarrass itself by chasing that legacy too hard. It does its own thing, and it does it well, while still carving out a respectful time for honoring its obvious foundation.
One of the most heartening parts of the experience was the theater itself - crowded, diverse, full of laughter, buzzing with that rare communal joy that comes from an earnestly great comedy. It’s hard to think of many studio comedies recently that delivered this kind of consistent reaction. Maybe Crazy Rich Asians, maybe Barbie, maybe this year’s One of Them Days. But it’s a regretfully short list. And watching people of all ages crack up - teenagers, elderly couples, families, and myself (way too loudly, sorry) - made the whole thing feel kind of special.
Comedy is personal, sure. But it’s also social. And there’s nothing quite like being in a room full of strangers, all howling at the same dumb, brilliant joke. The Naked Gun gave my wife and I one of those nights - reminding me why this genre, especially when done well, is still essential.
This one’s for anyone who’s ever laughed at a fart joke while being over the age of 30, or bonded with someone over the likes of I Think You Should Leave, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 30 Rock, Arrested Development, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and all the other greats. For whoever believes that it’s essential for dumb jokes to be smart, and how that’s precisely what makes them the funniest ones, The Naked Gun delivers on all geniusly stupid fronts.
‘The Naked Gun’ is now playing in theaters.
