The Naked Gun Review
The Naked Gun (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Akiva Schaffer, written by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand and Akiva Schaffer and starring Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Liza Koshy, Eddie Yu, Michael Beasley, Moses Jones, Chase Steven Anderson, Cody Rhodes, Busta Rhymes, Eddie DuPriest, Carl Gilliard, Elliott Grey and Wilbur Fitzgerald.
Liam Neeson stars in a new edition of a late 1980’s comedy favorite, The Naked Gun. Neeson is cast opposite Pamela Anderson in a humorous, if over-the-top, cop movie which throws in spoofs of a lot of police show and film cliches. There are enough laughs here for a few movies thanks to Neeson who plays it straight. Neeson, surprisingly, has a particular set of skills as a comic actor that make him rise above the typical action hero role which he has played for decades. Akiva Schaffer directs Neeson in this comedy with a goofy plot, but plenty of bizarre, original scenes that end up being downright hilarious.
Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr., a veteran cop, and the son of Leslie Nielsen’s character from the old The Naked Gun movies. Frank disguises himself as a little girl at the beginning of the movie to interrupt a bank robbery. Around the same time, Frank writes off a nearby death as a suicide due to apparently obvious evidence which has actually most likely been planted at the scene of the crime. When Beth Davenport (Anderson) arrives to set the record straight that there’s more than meets the eye regarding this recent death, the plot gets underway linking the bank robbery to the recent death.
Enter Richard Cane (Danny Huston), the main villain here, who has a plan to make everybody in the world fight amongst each other while Cane takes off to a safe bunker with other rich people to watch Weird Al Yankovic perform. Frank must prove that Richard is corrupt although Frank’s boss, Chief Davis (the terrific CCH Pounder), would prefer not to have Frank on the beat given his occasional incompetence.
Frank and Beth begin a torrid affair with a terrifically funny scene set to Starship’s song, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” becoming one of the highlights of the movie. In this scene, there’s a snowman the couple build together which comes to life in a way that would seem absurd if it didn’t make for some big laughs as the snowman ends up turning on the romantic pair.
This film is not perfect. Besides the two leads who are great together, there is an abundance of supporting characters, some of whom fare better than others. There are also many jokes about flatulence and going to the bathroom that seem like they sometimes beat a dead horse. Still, it’s hard to complain when the action is this entertaining. There can still be, admittedly, too many scenes of Frank dropping his pants or talking about dropping his pants.
There are some cameos that hit the bullseye. Busta Rhymes appears as a bank robber in question in a scene within the picture that is funny and when Dave Bautista appears towards the end, it’s a gut-buster. Paul Walter Hauser has a bigger role as fellow cop, Ed, who serves a free beer while undercover at a wrestling event at one point and Ed must pay the consequences as others line-up to get the same deal that he gave the other customer.
CCH Pounder has some of the best scenes in the movie and it’s great to see her working again. Pounder’s roles in some 1990’s movies like Sliver and Benny & Joon came around the time of the last of the old The Naked Gun movies, so it was a stroke of genius to bring her onboard as the no-nonsense boss of Neeson’s Frank.
Liam Neeson is always up to the task of any joke he’s asked to recite here, and the actor appears like he’s having a really good time on-screen. Pamela Anderson is making something of a comeback lately with this movie and The Last Showgirl (which also featured Dave Bautista). Anderson and Neeson stir up some silly, but enjoyable, chemistry in this new picture that will have audiences rooting for their characters throughout.
Look out for more goofy jokes in the end credits such as a “Netflix password” and other humorous bits. This new edition of The Naked Gun doesn’t miss a trick. While it throws in everything but the kitchen sink, it also marks the return to the type of humor that is sorely lacking in today’s comedies which, when they’re played like this, typically come across as trite and crass.
Neeson has saved the spoof genre with his solid performance this time around and has proven he’s more than just that guy taking revenge on those who cross him. Neeson’s having a ball in this new edition of a comedy classic and that makes the audience appreciate him even more for his terrific contributions to cinema over the years, including his dramatic work in very heavy movies which came at the start of his career. The Naked Gun is as far away from the early Neeson years as possible. This is a light-as-air summer comedy that will appeal to those who remember “Police Squad” and fans of Neeson while gathering new admirers as well. Pamela Anderson also gets brownie points for making a super comeback with her truly fun performance in this film.
Rating: 7/10
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