Direction: Akiva Schaffer
Country: USA
Shot in 35mm with a nostalgic nod to the ’80s and ’90s, The Naked Gun returns for another unnecessary chapter in the police-parody franchise—this time centering on Frank Drebin Jr., played by Liam Neeson, son of the legendary detective lieutenant Frank Drebin Sr., immortalized by the late Leslie Nielsen across three films. Directed and co-written by Akiva Schaffer, with scripting help from Dan Gregor and Doug Mand—the duo behind his live-action/animated comedy Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)—the film tries to rekindle old glory with mixed results.
Following in his father’s chaotic footsteps, Drebin Jr., now the LAPD’s zaniest cop, foils a bank robbery with unorthodox (if spectacular) methods. Soon after, he’s pulled into investigating the mysterious car crash that killed software engineer Simon Davenport. Suicide or murder? His sister Beth (Pamela Anderson) is convinced it’s the latter.
While the premise has the seeds of something playful, The Naked Gun is a campy comedy that rarely lands its jokes. No wonder that David Zucker, who directed the first two installments of the saga, declined to produce the movie, calling it “substandard” after reading the script. A few glimmers of humor surface early on, but they quickly fade under weak writing and flat performances. What’s left is a limp, witless spoof so overcooked in silliness it borders on painful.
