The Naked Gun review: Liam Neeson is the right amount of stupid in reboot of classic comedy franchise

Remember when The Martian won Best Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globes, or the continued classification of The Bear as a comedy despite a lot of evidence to the contrary? Well there’s no such confusion with Liam Neeson’s The Naked Gun — it’s a comedy to its core, and a pretty solid one at that.

A refresh of the Leslie Nielsen police comedies of the late 1980s and early 1990s, The Naked Gun is absolutely absurd and splendidly stupid, which is exactly what you’d expect from this franchise. Neeson takes over the role of Detective Frank Drebin (Jr.) and, along with Pamela Anderson, director Akiva Schaffer and producer Seth MacFarlane, they create a comedy that shoots off jokes first and worries about everything else later.

In the movie, Neeson’s Frank investigates the murder of a computer engineer in his own rogue style, but with help from his allies in Police Squad and the sister of the victim, Beth Davenport (Anderson), they eventually discover that a tech mogul is behind it all, with a sinister plan that will have consequences on a global scale.

Let’s just get it out of the way, this plot is a blatant rip off of Kingsman: The Secret Service. If they had taken a more generic murder mystery plot or corruption angle I don’t think I would have cared as much, but the fact that they took such a distinct idea that is so easily identifiable (at least for me; I love Kingsman) was a bit disappointing. The good news is that the plot is not important in enjoying The Naked Gun’s primary purpose — getting you to laugh.

In that department, the movie succeeds much more than it fails. Not every joke is going to land for everyone, but you won’t go more than a minute or two without some kind of joke or Easter egg, and a good majority of them will break through to at least earn a chuckle, while a solid number earned true laugh out loud moments for me (I particularly enjoyed the sequence when Neeson and Anderson have a weekend away at a winter cabin).

With a runtime of just 85 minutes, The Naked Gun doesn’t overstay its welcome. That being said, the jokes in the final act of the movie aren’t as consistently strong (there are a few gems in there) as it puts a little more focus on action and making sure the thin plot gets wrapped up.

A supporting cast that includes Paul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder and Danny Huston are solid, but The Naked Gun is truly a showcase for Neeson and Anderson’s comedic abilities, and both are very good.

Though he’s best known for his roles in Taken and other action franchises, Neeson perfectly blends his tough guy persona with the inherent silliness of the character and script, reminding us that he is an underrated comedy star (a cameo in Ted 2 and a voice performance in The Lego Movie are past standouts). That being said, it’s a near-impossible task for anyone to take the mantle from Nielsen, whose deadpan delivery and pseudo-seriousness were perfect for these movies. Neeson does about as good as anyone could, though.

The true breakout of the movie, though, is Anderson, playing a comedic femme fatale. After earning strong reviews for her dramatic performance in 2024’s The Last Showgirl, Anderson reveals her best path forward in her second act may be as a comedic actress. She is great opposite Neeson and, with all due respect to Priscilla Presley (who makes a cameo appearance in the 2025 new movie), is one of the few things in the reboot I think exceeds the original trilogy.

Fans of the original Naked Gun franchise should thoroughly enjoy this movie, which follows the playbook to satisfying results, and a new generation should have fun with the outrageous, mile-a-minute pace. Without question, The Naked Gun is reloaded and a strong bit of summer entertainment.

The Naked Gun premieres exclusively in movie theaters worldwide on August 1.