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What a pleasant surprise that movie was. It really brought back the humour and the spirit of the old movies while still bringing its own fresh flair to it. Not every joke might land but there are so many of them in the movie and most of them worked for me. It has been a while since I saw a movie so eager to make you laugh.

The Naked Gun (2025) is easily my third favorite Naked Gun movie. I've been a big fan of the first two films for a long time. I even own the Police Squad TV series, so I was a little worried when they announced they would be rebooting the franchise. Especially since comedy sequels are usually terrible. However, this movie nails the tone set by its predecessors. It doesn't rely on shock humor (although there is one scene I'd skip over next time). The jokes are clever, and this movie comes fully loaded with them. We all miss Leslie Nielsen, but Liam Neeson does a great job stepping into his shoes.

Parody is a delicate business. Done well, it dances the line between homage and mockery, sharp enough to skewer its target but light enough to make you laugh while it does. Films like Mel Brooks' 'Blazing Saddles', Robert Moore's 'Murder by Death' and Woody Allen's 'Love & Death' are precision-engineered chaos, made by people who deeply understood and admired not just the genres, but the conventions, clichés and cultural fixations they were lampooning.

Some of the very best came from the holy trinity of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (or ZAZ), whose work helped defined the modern spoof. Their 'Airplane!' is madcap magic, while the short lived 'Police Squad!' distilled that same manic energy into television, only to be cancelled before its time. Later resurrected with 'The Naked Gun' films, they introduced the world to Detective Lieutenant Frank Drebin- played with deadpan genius by Leslie Nielsen- remaining to this day a joke-a-second riot.

They're brilliantly stupid films, and, as Steve Martin once remarked "stupid comedy is the hardest kind of comedy to do." The kind of spoof ZAZ perfected demands impeccable timing and intelligent gags, offering a delicate balance between silliness and sincerity, as well as a cast who can deliver absurd lines with total conviction- without tipping into unintentional farce. They're incredibly difficult to pull off; but the results can be gold.

However, somewhere along the line, spoof became a byword for cheap, crass comedy. In the wake of earlier greats came odious, unfunny husks like Ezio Greggio's 'The Silence of the Hams,' the increasingly worthless 'Scary Movie' flicks and the irredeemable work of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Louder, cruder and ear-achingly dull, films like these confused volume for wit and reference for punchline, dragging a once-great genre into the gutter.

Can spoof make a comeback with Akiva Schaffer's rebooted 'The Naked Gun,' or is his film just another attempt to cash-in on a beloved IP? Written by Schaffer, Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, the film follows Frank Drebin Jr., who- just like his father before him- is a deadpan disaster magnet, whose loyalty to Police Squad is only matched by his talent for causing chaos. After foiling a bank robbery and meeting the sultry Beth Davenport, Drebin finds himself battling to save not just his beloved precinct from closure, but the human race itself.

Johnny Carson often said "it's more difficult to make somebody laugh than it is to make them think," and Schaffer struggles to do either. His film doesn't take itself seriously, revelling in silliness; though none of the gags reach the heights of the ZAZ originals. There are a few genuine laugh-out-loud moments, but the whole affair lacks the intelligence, precision and breakneck comic momentum that made 'The Naked Gun' a classic. It's funny at times, yes- but never truly smart and never quite sharp enough to stick.

Schaffer's reboot often feels closer in spirit to the lesser spoofs Leslie Nielsen appeared in during his later career- films like '2001: A Space Travesty' or 'Spy Hard'- where humour leaned heavily on low-hanging fruit and gags overstayed their welcome. It shares that same scattergun approach, hurling jokes at the screen with such desperation that when one lands, it almost feels accidental. Too often, a decent comic setup is run into the ground, scenes dragging on well past their punchline, drained of any real impact.

Narratively, it's a serviceable but uninspired affair. The plot- involving a global threat, a ticking clock and a precinct on the brink of shutdown- feels like a generic framework stretched to accommodate a parade of gags, rather than a tightly structured story in its own right. Schaffer, Gregor and Mand clearly understand the formula, but the film lacks the zany unpredictability and momentum that once made Police Squad feel like it was perpetually on the verge of collapse- in the best way possible.

Anecdotally, in the screening this reviewer attended, a man in the audience laughed so hysterically one couldn't help but wonder about his mental state. For him, the film was clearly comedic gold, as it very well may be for many. However, for those familiar with the TV show that spawned the franchise (and the whip-smart lunacy of the original films) this reboot can't help but feel like a broad, loud imitation.

Production-wise, the film is slick, looking and sounding like a bona fide big-budget thriller, with the kind of polish that gives everything a professional sheen. Brandon Trost's cinematography occasionally flirts with noir- dramatic lighting, shadowy compositions- hinting at a visual intelligence the script doesn't always match. Furthermore, to its credit, the action is crisply choreographed, executed with real momentum, while Lorne Balfe's score is stirring. However, Brian Scott Olds' editing results in pacing issues. Some scenes overstay their welcome, milking gags long past their expiry date. In comedy, timing is everything- here, a tighter cut could've made all the difference.

Having said that, Liam Neeson is terrific as the deadpan Drebin Jr., perfectly capturing the straight-faced absurdity essential to the role. His comic timing is excellent, at times managing to evoke the spirit of Leslie Nielsen's iconic performance without resorting to mere imitation. Neeson is no stranger to comedy, excelling in 'Life's Too Short' and 'A Million Ways to Die in the West;' here, he carries the film with a steady mix of dry charm and deadpan wit, keeping it afloat amid the chaos.

Pamela Anderson is similarly great as Beth Davenport, Drebin's love interest. Breathless and sultry, she brings an earnestness to the part that makes her straight-faced delivery genuinely funny. Like Prisicilla Presley before her, Anderson plays it completely straight, adding a charming counterbalance to the film's silliness. She and Neeson share a warm chemistry that feels natural and effortless.

Danny Huston makes for an effective villain, chewing the scenery with gusto. Imbuing the character with a certain gravelly authority- equal parts menace and theatrical flair- he has never sounded more like his late, great father John. Huston knows exactly what kind of film he's in, leaning into the absurd without losing his imposing edge. CCH Pounder and Paul Walter Hauser are also good, though underused, while two beloved stars from the original films make brief, but memorable, cameos.

Akiva Schaffer's 'The Naked Gun' is a knowingly daft affair- loud, chaotic and proudly unserious. Although highly polished, it doesn't match the razor-sharp wit or tight pacing that made the original films so beloved. It reminds one of the vast difference between Mel Brooks' 'Young Frankenstein'- a lovingly crafted genre send-up with real comic bite- and his later 'Dracula: Dead and Loving It', which had all the ingredients but none of the spark. There's fun to be had, and Neeson and Anderson give it their all; but, in the end, 'The Naked Gun' is hit-and-miss- mostly shooting blanks.

There were so many types of gags and different styles of humor that it felt like a mash-up of classic comedies with a modern look. Some parts felt Naked Gun (obviously), but others felt Monty Python or Austin Powers. I thought this would suck but it just made me smile the whole time. There was about a 20 minute stretch in the middle of the film where I didn't stop laughing. The absurdism is on point and jokes don't overstay their welcome.

While not 100% capturing the true spirit of the original films, this movie does a great job at getting really close to it. Liam Neeson has performed above expectations in my opinion, and the movie flows well from start to finish. If you were a fan of the original three movies, I would recommend you take a look at this one as well - I can assure you that you will have a good laugh in the cinema.