This might have been one of the hardest movies to sell me on in 2025. A sequel to a classic? We’ve seen this song and dance before – it’s a well-known recipe for disaster. However, sometimes the stars align and we get, not a perfect film, but one that stands on its own, able to be both a loving homage and a fresh new take on the formula.

2025 sees the return of The Naked Gun franchise with the latest film…The Naked Gun. I guess we’re supposed to call it The Naked Gun (2025) because giving your legacy sequels a unique name is completely unnecessary, right? Directed by Akiva Schaffer, best known for his song about things in his Jeep, the film follows the story of a new generation of the “Police Squad”, a special, “elite” division of the LAPD, tasked with taking on the biggest and baddest crimes in LA. Leading this new generation of heroes is Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson), the son of the “Police Squad” legend Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), who is tasked with unraveling a case centered around the theft of the “P.L.O.T.” device. As Drebin Jr. dives deeper into the case, he meets Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), a true-crime novelist, Richard Cane (Danny Huston), a shady tech CEO, and a bank robber played by Busta Rhymes. Hijinx ensue. Look, it’s a Naked Gun movie, there’s a mystery and lots of jokes, that’s all you need to know. 

Frank Drebin Jr. is played by one of the strangest successful men in Hollywood, Liam Neeson. To those who are familiar with film history, it is well known that Neeson is hilarious. For those unaware of his work outside of Taken, Star Wars, Batman, and the Redbox action movie slop he’s usually associated with, go back and watch Darkman or, my personal favorite, the Trix scene from Ted 2. That scene alone sold me on Neeson’s comedic abilities, but it’s sort of the skeleton key for why he was the right choice to follow up Leslie Nielsen. Neeson can almost effortlessly ride the line between seriousness and goofiness, much like Nielsen would. It’s hard to explain comedy. I don’t want to kill the frog here, but Neeson’s performance evokes a lot of Nielsen, while still being himself in many ways. Neeson is more physical and aggressive, while Nielsen is more charming and goofy. This distinction was my biggest fear going into the film, but I’m happy to say that Neeson kills.

Alongside Neeson is another star who is fast-tracking a career comeback, Pamela Anderson, who also kills. Anderson and Neeson have wonderful chemistry; it’s almost like they’re dating (which happens to be true since they announced their relationship after the premiere of the film). Beloved character actor and recent ruler of the realm of Subterranea, Paul Walter Hauser plays Ed Hocken Jr., the son of George Kennedy’s character from the original film. With this and his recent appearance in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Hauser continues to showcase his fantastic comedy chops as the yin to Neeson’s yang. Rounding out the main cast is Danny Huston as Richard Cane, a tech billionaire with dreams of world dominance. Huston slots in as the cliche standard villain role, something he’s done numerous times in lesser projects, but here he’s able to cut loose and have some fun with it. Honestly, Huston may have delivered my favorite joke in the film, a simple “yeah!” as Anderson attempts to seduce him via Scat singing.

The real charm of this legacy sequel is Schaffer’s focus on being off-the-wall silly. Much like his previous film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stoppping, Schaffer and company do everything in their power to keep the tone light, the plot insane, and the performances goofy. As the once vast ocean of comedy films continues to dry up, The Naked Gun proves that still some water in the well if one is only bold enough to be the clown. Most blockbusters have jokes in them, but are afraid to be too playful, as it might “take audiences out of the film”. The Naked Gun rebukes this statement and demands that the audience just enjoy the nonsense. Possibly the best thing I can say about the movie is that my entire theatre was laughing from top to bottom. For an hour and 25 minutes, a room full of people laughed and had a great time in a theatre together. SO GO SEE THIS! 

4/5

If you don’t go see this, then you simply do not enjoy comedies. This is a great flick to check out with friends, family, and strangers in a theatre near you!

Directed by Akiva Schaffer, The Naked Gun follows the story of a new generation of the “Police Squad”, a special, “elite” division of the LAPD, tasked with taking on the biggest and baddest crimes in LA. Leading this new generation is Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson), the son of the “Police Squad” legend Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), who is tasked with unraveling a case centered around the theft of the “P.L.O.T.” device. What follows is lights-out comedy filled with great moments and hilarious performances. The film also stars Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, and Liza Koshy. The Naked Gun was produced by Paramount Pictures, Domain Entertainment, and Fuzzy Door Productions and is set to release on August 8, 2025. GO SEE THIS.