The Naked Gun – Review

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 25 minutes, Director – Akiva Schaffer

Whilst investigating a murder, Detective Frank Drebin Jr (Liam Neeson) uncovers a billionaire-led plot to destroy and restart the Earth.

While perhaps on the surface the ZAZ style of comedy seems quite simple, to actually pull it off takes a lot of effort to not make the obvious jokes obvious and also make it seem as if nobody on screen is aware that a joke is even happening. Even the great dead-pan abilities of Leslie Nielson ever so slightly acknowledged some of the gags with a bit of face pulling in the original Naked Gun films, although no bad thing. After years of sequel and reboot attempts, one finally arrives in the slight guise of a legacy sequel and Liam Neeson pratfalling into the lead role with no awareness of the comedy around him whatsoever.

It would be easy to fall into the trap of referencing and quoting the original film as much as possible, and while there are one or two visual nods, the writing team of Dan Gregor, Doug Mand and Akiva Schaffer (also serving as director), with additional uncredited material from Mark Hentemann, Alec Sulkin and producer Seth MacFarlane, largely stick to capturing the very silly tone of The Naked Gun rather than replicating gags. The only thing that sticks out amongst the slapstick and a consistently funny running joke about coffee cups, is an ill-sitting Bill Cosby reference; even in a film which includes a much-advertised to OJ Simpson’s role in the original trilogy.

The original Police Squad and Naked Gun series seemed very much to be parodies of 50s and 60s cop shows. In that vein this reboot, even with its references to electric cars, feels inspired by 90s and 2000s police dramas. Detective Frank Drebin Jr (Neeson) is investigating a murder case which leads him to billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston), who is secretly plotting to destroy the world with a device that unleashes people’s animal instincts (a la Kingsman), before restarting with a select few. It’s a narrative which is given just enough details to see the film through, as noted by the 85-minute run-time.

Where things truly set off quickly are in terms of the jokes. While the opening sequence may have largely been shown in the trailers once onto the unseen moments there’s plenty to raise laughs throughout the audience. Things may somewhat lose steam just before the third act arrives, but there are still a good few chuckles to be found. Perhaps not quite on the same consistent belly-laugh level as some might hope for, but certainly a number of audible chuckles are found throughout to help move things along. And, even then there are likely certain moments that go missed or unheard, or will simply still work on a re-watch – including a brilliantly understated brief visual gag involving a disposable glove. Plus, be sure to stay through and keep an eye on the credits.

The big screen comedy, let alone the summer comedy, has been much discussed as struggling, and almost non-present, in recent years. Many seem to be banking on success for The Naked Gun to show life still in the genre in cinemas. Thankfully, the film has a strong hit rate thanks to the attention that has gone into the screenplay and just what’s happening in the background of so many scenes as well as the upfront narrative and wordplay. A love for these films helps things to go a long way and trying to overly modernise and make something darker or more action packed doesn’t appear to have been on the agenda.

Instead, the efforts to make the joke are present for the behind the camera and below the line team, while those on screen go about unaware. Neeson’s oblivious turn is distinctly different to Nielson, he’s a gruffer, harder-edged LA detective with a love for season 1 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Meanwhile, Pamela Anderson, as femme fatale love interest Beth, continues a strong comeback – after an awards worthy turn in The Last Showgirl earlier this year – with a performance that truly lets go and embraces the silliness whole-heartedly. She may be underserved in some of the later sequences, yet still gives a great performance – as do the supporting cast, such as Paul Walter Hauser’s Ed Hocken Jr, Frank’s fellow detective making up for his blunders and misunderstanding of how the law applies to the police.

It may start to lose some steam as it gets closer to the finale, but this reboot of The Naked Gun still manages to deliver on the laughs. Understanding most of what made the original set of films work so well without trying to directly replicate them. It may not reach the heights of them, but it still manages to fit in among them (perhaps standing better than the final instalment 33 1/3: The Final insult). Helped along by great comedic performances from Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, be sure to see this on the big screen and with an audience.

A very welcome surprise with further entertaining surprises, The Naked Gun keeps the silliness and variety of the originals without leaning into repetition. Neeson and Anderson are brilliant in capturing the dead-pan nature that’s needed to keep things moving even amongst the loss of momentum in the latter stages. Making for a consistently funny, mostly quick-paced 85 minutes.