by City Hall is unbeatable. Obviously not. It’s a structure.
That single statement and a hundred others like it attest to the fact that the legacyquel’s creative forces The Naked Gun is well aware of the unique qualities of the 1988 Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker parody. The Naked Gun is the funniest film of 2025 thanks to a totally dedicated Liam Neeson and a storyline that is jam-packed with gags.
Unfortunately, the movie opens with its weakest sequence, which David Zucker harshly criticized after the first trailer for The Naked Gun was released. A young girl, holding a hilariously large lollipop, leaps into the lobby as an armed bank heist is taking place. In a sleek, polished scene that studios practically require for movies in the many-headed action-adventure-comedy genre, Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr., who quickly dispatches a group of villains.
Fortunately, the movie swiftly gets over this pointless outburst of violence and finds a humorous rhythm, launching a flurry of fast-paced jokes that hardly ever slow down over its short 85-minute duration.
The Naked Gun’s plot is purposefully thin—there’s even a McGuffin named the P.L.O.T. Device—but the story beats are unimportant for a film that makes you laugh so hard.
Chief Davis (CCH Pounder) is causing problems for Drebin Jr. and his associate, Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser). Chief Davis assigns the two to traffic duty after displaying a newspaper that reads, “Police SQUAD IN HOT WATER” (with a picture of officers in a hot tub).
Frank and Ed end up looking into the death of a man who was operating a self-driving car as a result. Despite his obvious animosity, the man’s boss, tech CEO Richard Cane (Danny Huston), pledges to help him wherever he can.
Drebin suspects suicide, but Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), the man’s widow, welcomes him back to Police Squad and encourages Frank to investigate.
Another turning point in the movie is Anderson’s entrance. The former Baywatch star gives a flawless portrayal, delivering line after line of absurd dialogue with a firmly blank expression. The entire police force bursts into a chorus of internal monologues reminiscent of Philip Marlowe as she leaves the precinct, pulling a chair behind her when Frank requests that she sit down. It’s a funny moment, but it’s also a sensible reaction to seeing Priscilla Presley in the present day.
Despite their similar names, no one was expecting Neeson to take Nielsen’s place. Even when he dabbles in improv humor, the typically stoic actor who plays Drebin’s son, Frank Jr., embraces the role’s insanity. (Don’t call him Shirley, please.) As a result of the film’s modernization, Neeson is more formidable than Nielsen in hand-to-hand combat and, in contrast to his predecessor, occasionally surrenders the game with a knowing glance toward the camera. But it’s difficult to think of a contemporary actor who would be more appropriate for the part.
Having said that, The Naked Gun is by no means an exact replica. The Lonely Island and Saturday Night Live director Akiva Schaffer keeps the ZAZ vibe while incorporating his own contemporary touches.
Echoes of Schaffer’s underappreciated Disney noir can be heard.The Rescue Rangers in Chip & Dalein Drebin’s inquiries, as well as the boundary-pushing unreality that characterized Schaffer’s 2016 celebrity parody Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and his SNL Digital Shorts. Schaffer takes the parody in unexpected and novel ways, as seen in a romantic montage in the middle of the movie that mirrors the I’m into Something Good scene from the original Naked Gun.
Movie studios virtually stopped making theatrical comedies in the 2010s, when Marvel was on the rise and Judd Apatow’s stable of slackers was on the fall. Comedy aficionados are completely devastated by the mediocre substitute action films with sporadic witty dialogue. In any decade, The Naked Gun would be worth seeing at the theater. However, its dedication to delivering the most jokes per minute in 2025 is not just commendable, but unmatched.
***1/2 (out of 4) is the rating.
On August 1, The Naked Gun will be released in theaters.
Kevin Slane writes on culture and entertainment as a staff writer for Boston.com. Movie reviews, streaming guidelines, celebrities, and Boston activities are the main topics of his work.
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