Time: 85 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Violence, sexual references & offensive language
Cast:
Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr.
Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport
Paul Walter Hauser as Capt. Ed Hocken Jr.
Danny Huston as Richard Cane
CCH Pounder as Chief Davis
Kevin Durand as Sig Gustafson
Director: Akiva Schaffer

When a reboot of The Naked Gun was announced with Liam Neeson in the lead role, I really did not know what to think of that idea. However, it ended up looking really funny from the trailers, and I’m happy to say that the movie lived up to its marketing, and was one of the most pleasant surprises from 2025.

The most important thing I can say about the new Naked Gun is that it is hilariously silly and incredibly goofy, much like the original movie(s). Also, like the originals, there are plenty of jokes thrown at you constantly at rapid fire speed, multiple gags per minute. There’s a lot here, wordplay, visual jokes, recurring jokes and unexpected gags that even take you by surprise. Not all of the humour hits perfectly, but the movie and the jokes go by so fast that it doesn’t matter. With its overall approach especially to how it handles the comedy, this new film is true to the spirit of the original movies, while doing its own thing and even parodies some more modern action movies. While it’s not essential to watch the original trilogy (it is worth watching the first movie at the very least), there are some slight references and callbacks, and people who have seen those movies will recognise and enjoy them. Like with most action parodies and joke-per-minute comedies, it runs out of steam towards the third act, partially because it needs to have an action climax which means that there are less jokes to fit in. However, there are still some really funny moments towards the end. Finally, it is kept at a good length of under 90 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome and is paced very well across that runtime.

Liam Neeson is hilarious in the lead role, not only is he doing similar things as Leslie Nielsen from the original trilogy with perfect comedic timing and deadpan deliveries, you also see Neeson parodying his action persona from his action movies. Equally great is Pamela Anderson who is also really funny, she and Neeson share really good chemistry together. Paul Walter Hauser is also solid, and Danny Huston and Kevin Durand as the villains work really well especially because of how committed and straight faced they play their parts.

Akiva Schaffer’s direction works very well. I think a big part of what helps the movie is that the action, cinematography and other technical elements are better than you’d expect from a movie as silly as The Naked Gun, and that somehow makes the comedy even funnier. A notable example is the score from Lorne Balfe, whose music very much sounds like he’s parodying his own Mission Impossible scores.

The Naked Gun (2025) is a hilarious, wonderfully silly and entertaining spoof and a solid reboot to the original movies. Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson are really great and funny.