The Naked Gun (2025) is directed by Akiva Schaffer, who also wrote the screenplay alongside Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. It stars 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, and Busta Rhymes. This is the fourth installment in The Naked Gun franchise, this time focusing on Frank Drebin’s son, Frank Drebin Jr. (Neeson), who lives up to his father’s reputation in nearly every way. When tech genius Richard Cane’s (Huston) new app is involved in a recent murder, Frank rushes to help solve the case. The situation becomes complicated soon after Frank develops mutual romantic feelings for Cane’s muse, the seductive Beth Davenport (Anderson). Struggling with who to trust, Frank is forced to rely on his atypical approach to police work to solve the case, which often involves breaking the law in hilarious ways. 

Liam Neeson steps into the role of Frank Drebin with ease. This is because Frank Drebin Jr. is essentially the same character, a fact that the film occasionally pokes fun at. Frank Drebin is a big part of why those original Naked Gun films work so well, so it makes sense to avoid taking too many liberties with the character; It’s hard enough seeing anyone other than Nielsen in the role. Thankfully, Neeson’s skills make him a perfect fit for the character’s oblivious, overconfident personality. His deadpan delivery is so committed that it crosses the line into comedy. He’s obviously not as memorable as Nielsen, but he’s as good a replacement as I could’ve hoped for. As a side note, I also found it hilarious that the character is a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), for some reason.  

Danny Huston, as the film’s villain, is painfully generic. We’ve seen him play this exact character at least 10 times before, and this being a comedy doesn’t change it up one bit. Thankfully, the rest of the supporting cast nail their various roles.

 Paul Walter Hauser as Ed Hocken Jr., the son of George Kennedy’s Ed Hocken from the previous films, feels like perfect casting, his natural comic sensibilities suiting the series well. This sharp casting also extends to CCH Pounder as the leader of Police Squad. No one in Hollywood is better at playing characters who love to chew out their underlings, and Pounder proves it once again. 

The surprising standout is actually Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport, a classic femme fatale archetype. Her comedic chemistry with Neeson is unexpectedly strong, bringing a ditzy sweetness that complements his idiotic tough-guy persona. She also proves that her trademark flirtatious allure was always about more than her looks. 

      The humor stays true to the original films, featuring so many jokes that it’s almost exhausting. Countless chuckle-worthy sight gags are easy to miss, but comically rewarding if you happen to catch them. Because the story here is nothing but a shameless rehash of the original, it feels like the filmmakers thus felt the need to take its comic unreality further than ever before. That being said, storytelling has never been the primary focus of the franchise, so it hurts the film less than you might expect. As long as it makes us laugh, little else matters.

The humor reaches an occasional franchise high, with one particular sequence involving a snowman and a threesome being the standout. That being said, a lot of the jokes are chuckle-worthy at most, as well as generally less inspired than I was expecting from such a talented comedic team. It’s fun, just not exactly surprising. 

Overall, this is a fun spoof of not just cop movies, but MODERN cop movies, which sets the film apart from previous entries in the franchise. Unfortunately, it’s also the most derivative story-wise. On top of that, the jokes only land about half of the time. That being said, there are so many jokes that a 50% success rate results in more laughs than most films with a 95% success rate. It kind of just kills you with quantity. Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson provide fantastic lead performances, and the film never overstays its welcome with its short 85-minute runtime. If you loved the original, or just spoof movies in general, you can’t go wrong; It’s a welcome throwback. Everyone else will likely find it annoying, uninspiring, and even a bit childish. B-