The Naked Gun

The old Naked Gun films thrived on Leslie Nielsen's charisma: his deadpan delivery could make even the weakest moment funny. That's why the news that Liam Neeson would star in the 2025 revival initially felt odd - he's not a comedy actor at all. But then again, Nielsen himself came from serious dramas, and the contrast is what made him iconic. In this film, Neeson does his best as the "serious man in an absurd world," and sometimes it works, though the magic isn't quite there. Some jokes land, others fall completely flat.

It was nice to see a respectful nod to Leslie Nielsen - a small touch that adds some warmth. Still, the movie feels mostly like a play on nostalgia: it's watchable once, with a few laughs along the way, but there's no real sense that it ever needed to exist.

While not 100% capturing the true spirit of the original films, this movie does a great job at getting really close to it. Liam Neeson has performed above expectations in my opinion, and the movie flows well from start to finish. If you were a fan of the original three movies, I would recommend you take a look at this one as well - I can assure you that you will have a good laugh in the cinema.

The new Naked Gun isn't a bad film, but I found it underwhelming. It starts off strong, but the laughs taper off as it goes on. While it's a cut above many modern comedies, it struggles to measure up to the original films - a comparison that's hard not to make. Liam Neeson feels miscast; he leans too far into the silliness, when playing it straighter might have made his performance funnier. All in all, it's watchable, but not something I'd pay to see.

Comedy movies seem to be nearing extinction. And this type of stoopid-funny humor has been nonexistent. Long gone are the days of the Austin Powers', Zoolander's, Kung Pow's, and Scary Movie's. Until now.

The Naked Gun is extremely stoopid in the best way possible. There are so many times I was shaking my head at the absurdity of what I was watching. It's cleverly random and strategically obnoxious.

I laughed out loud too many times to count. I would estimate an 85% hit rate for me. Combine that with the nonstop quick rate of comedic attempts, maybe 5-10 per minute. It was a good time.

It has an awesome musical score by beast composter Lorne Balfe, and some well-shot action scenes that feel cinematic. These things are completely unnecessary for this type of comedy movie. But it made the experience that much better.

If you're a fan of stoopid-funny, definitely check this out.

(1 viewing, opening Thursday 7/31/2025)

I got just about what I expected-but I was hoping for a miracle. And a miracle could have happened if they had stayed true to the spirit of the original films. The originals are a parody of classic noir/detective cinema, with Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin doing absurd things with a completely straight face-just like Peter Sellers did a few years earlier in The Pink Panther.

Even though everything around them is parodic (as are their actions), they themselves remain serious characters and see themselves that way. In this film, though, they let that go. They threw in a bunch of anarchic humor and unintelligent stunts-clearly, in my view, aiming to attract a younger audience.

And that audience seemed to enjoy the film quite a bit. We older fans, on the other hand, swallowed the lump in our throats and took some comfort in the solid performances of our beloved aging stars, consoling ourselves that it turned out relatively well.