Liam Neeson delivers an even sillier version of his signature rumbly, menacing voice than the one he used in Taken—raising the question of whether he’ll follow Leslie Nielsen’s path into full-time spoof comedy. To be fair, Neeson has more to lose career-wise than Nielsen did. His deadpan delivery is flawless, though he lacks Nielsen’s uncanny innocence. Still, that doesn’t stop this Naked Gun reboot from being a blast: delightfully absurd, refreshingly shallow, utterly pointless, and shamelessly crude. It’s essentially a vehicle for outrageous gags, including hilarious nods to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sex and the City, plus a jaw-dropping O.J. Simpson reference that pushes boundaries.
David Zucker, co-creator of the original Naked Gun and Airplane! films, reportedly isn’t happy with this new take from director Akiva Schaffer and writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. Spoofing a spoof is tricky, but Schaffer and team barrel through absurd scenarios with infectious energy—even paying homage to Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker with a chaotic moment followed by an orderly queue for violence, much like Airplane!’s infamous passenger line.
Neeson plays Det. Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., son of Nielsen’s original character, haunted (in a Freudian way) by his late father’s legacy. He delivers wistful monologues to Drebin Sr., begging for a sign—”like an owl or something.” Paul Walter Hauser plays his no-nonsense partner, Capt. Ed Hocken Jr., son of George Kennedy’s character. The new Drebin investigates a suspicious death involving a high-tech electric car, leading him to confront a sinister Musk-like billionaire (Danny Huston).
Along the way, Drebin falls for the victim’s sister, Beth (Pamela Anderson), a true-crime writer. Their meet-cute includes a voiceover so bizarrely offensive it left my audience in stunned silence—a line so memorably shocking it lingered like PTSD throughout the film.
This reboot channels the look and feel of ’80s L.A. action flicks, with echoes of Beverly Hills Cop and Terminator. A hilariously over-the-top winter-sports music video (straight out of a Wham! fantasy) captures Frank and Beth’s whirlwind romance. There’s no deeper reason for this Naked Gun to exist—just like the originals, it’s a silly, forgettable, but thoroughly enjoyable laugh.
The Naked Gun hits theaters in the UK and US on August 1, and Australia on August 21.
