The Naked Gun (2025) – Review

There is something refreshing, almost rebellious, about the return of a comedy that’s this proudly dumb. The 2025 revival of The Naked Gun, helmed by Lonely Island alum Akiva Schaffer, brings back the absurdist, slapstick spoof energy that has been largely missing from mainstream Hollywood for quite a long time. A successor to the original The Naked Gun trilogy from the 1980s, this is a film that knows exactly what it is – a barrage of puns, pratfalls, visual nonsense, and throwaway gags loosely stitched together by a plot held up by gum and spit, mostly just there to hang punchlines on, and it unabashedly does not pretend to be anything more. 

Well, also because there’s nothing there to be anything more, and for the most part, it works.

Hollywood’s favourite serious actor turned unlikely action star, Liam Neeson (the Taken films) stars as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., the deadpan heir to the role originated by Leslie Nielsen (Airplane!), now serving in the same Police Squad of the Los Angeles Police Department as his father. The plot, such as it is, involves a suspicious car crash, a tech-billionaire villain (Danny Huston, The Crow) who seemingly channels a satirical Elon Musk, and a love interest in the form of a spacey true-crime author Beth Davenport, played by an older but still sultry Pamela Anderson (Baywatch). Alongside Drebin Jr. is Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser, Black Bird), who, in a role reversal, offers straight-laced comedic support in a film that barely stays upright. But again, the story is beside the point, and the joy here lies in the execution of inspired (and perhaps uninspired) lunacy, ranging from oversized coffee cups repeatedly handed in from offscreen to a ménage à trois with an occult snowman. 

Neeson’s signature growl and gravitas, once used to deliver compelling performances in Schindler’s List (1993) and Rob Roy (1995), before transforming into intimidating portrayals in the Taken film franchise, now prove surprisingly compatible with the film’s loopy tone. This is especially so when the 73-year-old delivers ridiculous lines with the same stoicism that he once applied to death threats in a string of post-Taken action films, with the meta juxtaposition only highlighting the absurdist humour. His combat skills, which served as a linchpin for the action-heavy Non-Stop (2014), Run All Night (2015) and The Commuter (2018) films, are now underscored in a different way, serving to subvert expectations for serious fighting scenes by pinballing wildly between plot-demanded tension and zany slapstick. 

Where Nielsen played Frank Drebin with a kind of uncanny obliviousness, his blank sincerity magnifying every absurd moment, Neeson brings a very different energy to the role. Nielsen’s Drebin is a man who is completely unaware of how ridiculous he is, and thus hilarious by default. Neeson, on the other hand, appears to at least be aware of the absurdity of the situation around him, as he often comments. This leads to Neeson’s Drebin Jr. being more gruff, grounded, and carrying the weight of Neeson’s action-thriller legacy, which the film leans into with winks and nods as well.

He’s not as effortlessly buffoonish as Nielsen, nor does he have that rubbery, deadpan elasticity that allowed Nielsen to make even the dumbest punchline feel like comic gold. But Neeson compensates with sheer commitment to bits, with a willingness to deliver the most ludicrous lines with gravelly conviction. It’s a different flavour of funny that works more often than not, in a surprising but welcome display of Neeson’s comedic chops.

Schaffer and co-writers Dan Gregor (Most Likely to Murder) and Doug Mand (Dolittle) pack the 85-minute runtime with a mix of old-school and contemporary gags. Some land hard, like the wildly hilarious O.J. Simpson reference that shocks in the best way, while others feel like vintage references to an older era of moviemaking. The best of the humour gleams with vintage sparkle, reminiscent of the original Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker charm that was popular with older audiences. This is best showcased in gags such as the nefarious plot device very self-referentially named ‘P.L.O.T.’ and the line, “You got 20 years for man’s laughter? Must’ve been quite the joke.”

The casting choices certainly help with the execution of these gags as well, with Anderson being a welcome addition to the film. While no stranger to the comedic genre, having been part of Scary Movie 3 (2003) and Superhero Movie (2008), the former sex symbol, whose acting chops were on full display in The Last Showgirl (2024), is tested in a different way in this movie. Her comedic performance and dedication to the bits aid her in her performance opposite Neeson, giving the film another dimension of comic flair. 

Schaffer adds a visual flair missing from earlier entries, with a polished and serious cinematographic approach to the mayhem that only highlights its absurdity. The tone walks a fine line between parody and homage, occasionally stumbling but mostly skipping along with glee.

Still, while the film’s commitment to chaos is admirable, it occasionally misfires: more scattershot than scalpel-sharp. Wherein some jokes are incisive in their execution and punch, others fizzle out on delivery or last perhaps run a little too long and overstay their welcome. Otherwise, certain gags feel like echoes of a zanier era, which may lack the fresh punch they were aiming for. These would include the Buffy the Vampire Slayer gag and the Sex and the City joke, which, while pandering to a nostalgia-driven audience, may fall flat for a younger audience. Neeson, though committed, never quite reaches the deranged obliviousness that made Nielsen’s Drebin so magnetic. Neeson plays it a touch too straight, and the contrast sometimes dulls the absurdity rather than amplifying it. Still, even when the comedy wobbles, the sheer volume of jokes ensures that another laugh is never far behind.

In an era of overlong franchise films and joke-lite ‘comedies’, The Naked Gun feels like a welcome throwback. It is short, silly, and self-aware enough to embrace its own idiocy, and that makes it all the more a good time, a crowd-pleaser, and above all else, proof that movies this joyously dumb still deserve a place on the big screen.

Ting Wei

Conversation with Ting Wei is like chatting with a weird AI bot programmed only with One Piece lore and theories, sitcom quotes and other miscellaneous pop culture references. When he’s not sleeping, he’s highly likely reading manga. In fact, the only thing he reads more than manga is the Bible, and it’s honestly pretty close.