TL;DR – While not every joke lands, and runs too long, it is still one of the funniest films I have seen this year.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Naked Gun Review –

Some films are called iconic for a good reason, whether that is because of the time, the cast, the writing, directing, or more than likely a combination of all of them. Which is why reboots decades later rarely work, they are trying to recreate something that does not exist anymore. But every now and again, someone finds a way to recreate that magic. Today, we look at a film that just might have pulled that off.

So, to set the scene, we open as criminals start tearing a bank apart looking for money, gems, and a P.L.O.T. Device. The police have the bank surrounded when a little girl breaches the barricade and runs into the bank. The criminals think this is a joke, but in reality, it is Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) in disguise. Drebin’s overzealous tactics land several people in the hospital, thus he and his partner, Capt. Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser) are reassigned to a car crash in the mountains by Chief Davis (CCH Pounder). But after meeting with Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), sister of the deceased, Drebin discovers that there may be more going on.

What The Naked Gun does best is quantity over quality when it comes to its humour. There is always time for a sight gag, and they make the most of every moment. They are pulling from all of the Police Squad! history here, and there are probably jokes that you will miss because people were laughing so much. That was at least what happened in my screening today. The jokes do range along a spectrum, with quite a lot of crass humour which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. There is joke after joke after joke, like someone loaded a comedy shotgun. We get physical comedy at every turn, and even the end credits are not safe from shenanigans. Part of this is because Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson throw all of themselves into this role. They have the chemistry that just captures the screen, and that is so much of the momentum of the film.

Helping our leads is a bunch of wonderful supporting cast that is here for all the shenanigans. Paul Walter Hauser is always a delight in comedic roles, and here he excels as the sort of straight man to Liam Neeson’s exuberance. CCH Pounder is always a catch for whatever project can get her, and The Naked Gun is no different. You need someone you can stand up to all the boisterousness, and she does. Add in Danny Huston and Kevin Durand as our villains, chewing all the scenery, a bunch of fun cameos, and you have all the building blocks of a great film.

Structurally, it is a very basic ‘who done it’ and the film is not interested in hiding its intentions. You will know the who and the why from almost the start of the film, but given the tone that they are exploring it does kind of work. There is a lot of meta commentary on its place in the media, as a sequel, and the legacy of what has come before, which is appreciated and makes it work in the new context. For example, they tackle some of the more uncomfortable parts of the previous films, such as casting choices that would not happen today. They also play on the need to neatly tie legacy sequels to the past with sometimes flimsy premises.  

However, the more the movie progresses, the seams began to melt away like a snowman in the sun. A lot of the jokes are reworkings of gags done in different films, and no, I don’t just mean riffing on Police Squad! content. They are pulling material from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and more. Indeed, even the main plotline comes almost entirely lifted from Kingsman: The Secret Service. From a pacing perspective, the film starts to linger on jokes too long as it progresses to the end. Also, while not every joke lands, some crash with a thud, including a woeful out-of-pocket reference to the original lyrics of The Black Eyed Peas’ Let’s Get It Started, which would have been a wildly inappropriate choice in the 2000s, let alone now.

In the end, do we recommend The Naked Gun? Look, this film is never going to be for everyone, because much like its namesake, it is dealing with a specific type of comedy that will either excite or repel you. For fans of absurdist, rapid-fire sometimes crass comedy, then this is the film for you and it has been a while since I have been in a cinema that laughed as much as they did here. Seen The Naked Gun? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked The Naked Gun, we would recommend to you Hundreds of Beavers because of its physical comedy chops.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Naked Gun
Directed by – Akiva Schaffer
Screenplay by – Dan Gregor, Doug Mand & Akiva Schaffer  
Based on – Police Squad! by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker & The Naked Gun by Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker & Pat Proft
Music by – Ira Newborn
Cinematography by – Robert M. Stevens
Edited by – Michael Jablow
Production/Distribution Companies – Fuzzy Door Productions & Paramount Pictures
Starring – Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Liza Koshy, Eddie Yu, Moses Jones, Cody Rhodes, Busta Rhymes, Justin Gaethje, Kamaru Usman, Priscilla Presley, Jon Anik, Michael Bisping, Bruce Buffer, Dave Bautista, John McCarthy & Weird Al Yankovic  
Rating – Australia: M; Canada: 14a; Germany: 12; New Zealand: M; United Kingdom: 15; United States: PG-13