[FILM REVIEW] THE NAKED GUN Review (2025)
Summary: Only one man has the particular set of skills – to lead Police Squad and save the world.
Year: 2025
Cinema Release Dates: 21st August 2025 (Australia), 14th August 2025 (Thailand), 1st August 2025 (UK), 1st August 2025 (USA)
VOD Release Dates: TBA
Country: USA, Canada
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Screenwriter: Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, Akiva Schaffer
Cast: Pamela Anderson (Beth Davenport), Jon Anik (Jon Anik), Dave Bautista (himself), Michael Beasley (Detective Taylor), Michael Bisping (Michael Bisping), Sergio Duque (Henry The Hitman), Kevin Durand (Sig Gustafson), Wilbur Fitzgerald (Dan Daly), Justin Gaethje (Ray ‘Machine Gun’ Morenci), Paul Walter Hauser (Ed Hocken Jnr.), Danny Huston (Richard Cane), Moses Jones (Not Nordberg Jnr.), Liza Koshy (Detective Barnes), Vincent Lascoumes (Douglas O’Reilly), Jason MacDonald (Simon Davenport), Liam Neeson (Frank Drebin Jnr.), CCH Pounder (Chief Davis), Priscilla Presley (Jane Spencer), Jordan Scott (Jimmy), Kamaru Usman (Yemi ‘The Bull’ Coker), Weird Al Yankovic (Weird Al Yankovic), Eddie Yu (Detective Park)
Running Time: 89 minutes
Classification: M (Australia), 15 (Thailand), 15 (UK), PG-13 (USA)
OUR THE NAKED GUN REVIEWS
David Griffiths’s The Naked Gun Review
When was the last time a movie really made you laugh? I’m not talking about an older film you revisted I’m talking about a new film in a cinema – a new release that really made you laugh out loud.
I’m tipping that it hasn’t happened for awhile but great news – that is about to change with the arrival of director Akiva Schaeffer’s (Saturday Night Live) The Naked Gun in cinemas.
I’ll admit that I was nervous heading into the cinema to watch The Naked Gun. After all the original movies, plus the television show, are considered some of the best comedy movies of all time. So much so that when you talk to the great comedy actors of today they will all say the same thing – those films had a huge impact on their early careers.
But to be honest while those films were funny they weren’t exactly what you would call today politically correct – so how would a team filmmakers bring that type of comedy to the big screen without being cancelled. Then there was also the fact that cast in the lead role was Liam Neeson (Taken) – a great actor but not necessarily known for his comedy.
I need not of worried though because The Naked Gun is not only the funniest film you will see this year – it is one of the best comedies modern cinema has ever given us.
Neeson plays Detective Frank Drebin Jnr, the son of the legendary character played by Leslie Neilson. Like his father Frank does what he can to clean up the mean streets of Los Angeles, even if that means going outside the law – something that annoys his boss Chief Davis (CCH Pounder – The Shield)
After going outside the law once again while investigating a bank robbery Davis demotes Frank and his partner Ed Hocken Jnr.(Paul Walter Hauser – Richard Jewell) to a role investigating car crashes. While on their first case they stumble across a death that links back to the bank robbery and soon has Frank investigating tech billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston – 21 Grams) while falling for the charms of crime fiction writer Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson – The Last Showgirl).
When it comes to putting everything together for The Naked Gun the screenwriting team have completely nailed everything. From the over-top villain story-line that would do the creators of Austin Powers proud through to delivering brilliant pieces of comedy throughout the film. This is not one of those films where one joke lands and the next fails – this is a film where every joke hits the spot – whether it is a one liner, a piece of slap-stick or even something funny happening in the background.
Then there is the fact that this film not only pays homage to the original Naked Gun films it re-captures their magic to the point where it deserves to be called the fourth film in the franchise. The writers have even been smarter enough to include pop culture references from today and the past so that the film can be loved by fans of the old films as well as fresh audience members who have never even seen them.
The last piece of the puzzle that comes together to make The Naked Gun a classic film are the performances of the cast. While Liam Neeson might not be known for comedy perhaps it is something that he should think about doing more because he is brilliant here. He has the rubbery comedic facial expressions of Rowan Atkinson and the comedic timing of Steve Carrell and to be blunt he is better than a lot of the other so-called comedic actors out there today.
He is also well supported by Pamela Anderson who after wowing Hollywood with her dramatic performance in The Last Showgirl can now add comedy to her acting repertoire. In playing a character that is a parody of the femme fatales from the 1960s she gets the opportunity to match one liners with Neeson and even outrun a killer snowman (yes you read that right) in one of the film’s most outrageous skits.
If you plan on going to see The Naked Gun be prepared to laugh like you have never laughed before. This is a film that is literally a laugh a minute and is not afraid to bring back the type of edgy comedy that many thought was gone from Hollywood forever.
David’s rating Out Of 5
Kyle McGrath’s The Naked Gun Review
Guns, crime, drugs and scum. It’s not the Australian parliament it’s the rotten streets of LA. There’s only one man, MAN enough to take it all on and unfortunately that man is Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr (Liam Neeson) of Police Squad!
Lt. Frank Drebin Jr has big shoes to fill of his late great father, Frank Drebin Sr. A man who got the job done and that job was stopping the baddies. Frank Drebin Jr has the one thing which counts in the world of law enforcement; a dead wife and a license to kill. He’s shoot first and ask Questions later, then he shoots Mr Questions so he can’t tell anyone anything! But Frank’s latest case will be his biggest most action packed one of all.
It starts like so many other days, a high stakes bank robbery acting as a cover for a tech billionaire’s secret plans. A beautiful dame called Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson) investigates the mysterious death of her brother. It all ties back to Richard Cane (Danny Huston) the said tech billionaire with said secret plans. Can Frank Drebin Jr make his daddy proud in the afterlife or will LA be turned into (moreso) of a crime filled wasteland.
In 1982 the TV series ‘Police Squad!’ had its limited run of only 6 episodes. Created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker the series was too good for this world being full of humour ranging from silly puns, eccentric site gags and fourth wall breaking silliness. The idea was revived for the 1988 film The Naked Gun which transferred many of the same jokes to the big screen to much wider success. Two sequels followed as did the sordid history of the film’s supporting actor OJ Simpson. But now with the same creative minds behind 2022’s revival ‘Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers’ is there enough draw for a similar modernisation on this age old parody formula?
Right from the start who else could possibly fill in for the late Leslie Nielsen but Liam Neeson? Nielsen was known as a serious actor before his role in Airplane (1980) and ‘Police Squad!’ reinvented him as a comedy heavyweight. Neeson for his part has already been become an action star late in his career and with excellent comedic timing and straight faced appeal this looks to be another evolution for a man with quite a varied set of skills!
I was extremely excited for this reboot since seeing the first excellent trailer. The thing about trailers however is they tend to just use the best jokes to draw in audiences. But in ‘The (new) Naked Gun’s’ case they just used some very good jokes from a film loaded wall to wall with them!
A large reason the original ‘Police Squad!’ had trouble finding an audience was people had to actually pay attention while watching it. Yes 20 years before smartphones people already had short attention spans! So there was some worry that this film would miss the point of the originals. Aim for totally different humour or just slap an R rating on it, throwing in some full frontal male nudity as other poor “raunchy” comedies have done.
So 2022’s ‘Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers’ had some rough moments (some fans just didn’t like seeing their childhood crush infested by insects like something from a David Cronenberg film). But here writers Dan Gregor, Doug Mand & Akiva Schaffer fully understand what made The Naked Gun & Police Squad! so great. Their reboot taps into that particular brand of zaniness and their screenplay feels like a natural continuation of the series.
Non stop jokes. Visual gags, references to the original and funny dialogue which if you’re not paying attention to for a moment you’ll miss brilliance. Actually the jokes come so hard at you that by the time you’re wondering what gag you missed that everyone else was laughing at you’ll have missed another 3!
It’s a film which pays homage to the satires of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. Honestly it bothered me a lot that this film didn’t open with the traditional ‘police siren’ title screen. Only because the rest of the movie matches the others in the series so perfectly this small deviation stands out prominently. But even then the film has call backs to 40 year old gags from Police Squad! The Naked Gun movies never even touched.
It is a laugh out loud comedy film. One which had my audience cracking up several times every minute with way more hits than misses. I feel the people who would deride this film’s attempts to live up to the past simply dont get it. It is a modernisation of an older formula, one which adds enough new to the mix to keep contemporary audiences entertained while playing up on the type of action star Neeson is. Much in the same way Police Squad! played up on classic police procedurals like ‘Dragnet’. As a fan of the older films I loved this reboot way more than I could have ever hoped I would. Neeson proves himself an effective comedic lead while the filmmakers’ faith in their audience pays off. It is one of the silliest but in it’s own way smartest comedies of the 2020’s. It’s a breezy 85 minutes and just like a man in a filthy McDonald’s rest room it’s smart to get in and out fast!
David Griffiths and Kyle McGrath’s The Naked Gun Review
Kyle’s rating Out Of 5
Average Subculture rating Out Of 5
Other Subculture Entertainment The Naked Gun Reviews
You can read our review of The Naked Gun that appeared in The Phuket News right here – https://www.thephuketnews.com/the-naked-gun-hits-the-mark-as-an-instant-comedy-classic-97229.php?fbclid=IwY2xjawMqZ9RleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFhNHRFaEs5YjVhNVFtNmFOAR7FRRg5-EdaOXIN2_UFNmM1fGf1iQEMbYjLy1MnAJAXlMPRpOSYt0A0xnKNiQ_aem_oXnE75hDzghZS9yL1O2TQA
Trailer: