When I was young, I didn’t get the full gravity of what The Naked Gun franchise has meant to people across generations before I was born. Leslie Nielsen was Frank Drebin through and through, the witty snapbacks at his coworkers and his frequent enemies, whether they were in the police force themselves or criminal masterminds, make this a unique comedy/satire that still feels fresh in the IP- dominated arena of today’s era movies. While I haven’t watched any of the original 80s trilogy before, their impact on how comedy approaches satire overall cannot be understated, as movies like The Other Guys by Adam McKay and the 21 Jump Street duology in the 2010s owe a lot to the success of The Naked Gun as a whole.
The film follows Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) breaking up a robbery at a major bank disguising himself as a little girl before taking out a bunch of robbers and arresting them on the spot. The rest of the film is him trying to clear his name from accusations by his police manager and also he is trying to get to the bottom of a case where a billionaire who’s dabbling in mass mind control. That takes him through a wild ride through the streets of Los Angeles alongside his partner trying to save the world once again just like his father Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen). He also falls in love with Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson) along the way.
So when I heard that they were going to do a reboot/legacy sequel to the franchise, releasing this year, starring Liam Neeson in the main role, with Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand, and Danny Huston also in the cast. The best part about the movie is that it stands on its own without the need for referencing past or future events in the story or using it to cash in on nostalgia bait to reel in long-time fans of the franchise. This felt really refreshing as the pace and look of the movie make it feel grand in a way that doesn’t overshadow the heartfelt story about family legacy and what the characters would sacrifice to protect against a threat trying to take over the world. Visually, this is one of the best-looking films all year in any genre, and its varying colour grading gives it texture and adds to the old-school feeling of the movie.
The standout characters are Frank Drebin Jr (Liam Neeson) and Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), as they both added physicality and personality that grounded the film while also raising the stakes to a point where audiences really don’t know what is going to happen at the end. Also, a special shoutout to Captain Ed Hocken Jr, played by Paul Walter Hauser, who added much-needed depth and clarity, along with fantastic slapstick comedy, to make what’s already a good film into one of the best comedy movies in the last decade.
The cast had fantastic chemistry throughout, and it really shone through during the emotional and comedic moments in the climax during the showdown against Richard Cane. Danny Huston did an excellent job of portraying the sheer malice of the cartoonish villain on screen without making it look out of place or feeling that it’s trying to overcompensate.
The ending of the film, along with the post-credit scene, really ties the bow on a great cinematic experience in the theatre with a full crowd.