Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) is taken off a case involving a stolen gadget called a ‘P.L.O.T. Device’, after his police chief believes him to be a liability. Assigned to investigate the seeming suicide of software engineer Simon Davenport, Frank discovers that the two cases might be related. With the help of Simon’s sister Beth (Pamela Anderson), a crime novelist determined to uncover the truth, Frank sets his sights on justice, no matter the cost or collateral damage.
When it was announced that ‘The Naked Gun’ franchise was going to be revived, I was wholly against the idea. A fan of the original Leslie Nielsen films, which ran from 1988 to 1994, I couldn’t imagine how the franchise could operate in a world where everyone is offended by everything and we all have to be super PC at all times. With Seth MacFarlane (‘Family Guy’) producing, I started to think that maybe the film might be decent after all so it’s with great delight, and a huge smile on my face, that I can confirm ‘The Naked Gun’ has been done properly.
Comedy has fallen off a cliff in recent years and what ‘The Naked Gun’ does is perfectly capture the zany slapstick feel of the original films. With silly humour delivered in deadpan ways by the whole cast, I laughed until I cried on multiple occasions. Liam Neeson proves to be a revelation as Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr., the son of the late Frank Drebin (Nielsen), surprisingly adept with comedic timing. The franchise’s style of the characters taking everything literally works well here and one scene in particular where Debin Jr. enters a club and causes chaos without even noticing, had my sides splitting.
Matching him note-for-note is Pamela Anderson, who is on top form. The resurgence of Anderson as an actor has been something quite spectacular to see. She’s managed to shrug off the pre-conceptions and judgement that have dogged her for years, and as Beth she delivers a career best performance. Like Neeson she fully commits to the comedy and one of the film’s highlights is a bonkers scatting scene, where she is simply sublime. Anderson and Neeson have a fantastic chemistry, and they remind you strongly of the bond that Neilsen and Priscilla Presley had in the first three films.
Extras on the Blu-ray release include a selection of deleted, alternate and extended scenes, and a series of features taking you behind the scenes of the film.
As always with ‘The Naked Gun’ films, the plot really is secondary. It serves a purpose and drives things forward but you’ll really be here for the comedy. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to just laugh my socks off for 85-minutes without any agenda being shoved in my face. ‘The Naked Gun’ is pure popcorn fun and it’s easily the funniest comedy that’s been released in years. Given that the film has done well at the box office, I really hope that we’ll see Neeson and Anderson back for a sequel before long. ‘The Naked Gun’ is exactly what film needs right now, and it might be one of my favourite films of the year.
Cast: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Danny Huston, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Paul Walter Hauser Director: Akiva Schaffer Writers: Dan Gregor, Doug Mand & Akiva Schaffer Certificate: 15 Duration: 85 mins Released by: Paramount Pictures Release date: 10th November 2025 Buy ‘The Naked Gun’ now
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