This article contains spoilers for "The Naked Gun."
It almost seemed like a grave mistake to revive a long dormant franchise whose comedic identity revolves around the impossible-to-recreate screen presence of Leslie Nielsen, but rest assured, it's a glorious new day for "The Naked Gun" series. In the Akiva Schaffer-directed reboot of the same name, Liam Neeson embraces his sillier side as Frank Drebin Jr., the equally destructive offspring of Nielsen's character. After spending the latter half of his film
career playing older tough guys, Neeson gets to channel that energy into an incredibly funny performance that honors his cinematic daddy without outright copying him. His comedic turns in "The LEGO Movie," "A Million Ways to Die in the West" and a scene-stealing cameo in "Ted 2" were all warm-ups for a film that could easily guide Neeson into the next phase of his career. But he's not alone in making this legacy sequel feel like a breath of fresh air.
Neeson is surrounded by a game ensemble that work off of him in spectacular fashion, whether it be Pamela Anderson as femme fatale author Beth Davenport, Paul Walter Hauser as the fitting spawn of George Kennedy's Ed Hocken, or a lively Danny Huston as the evil tech genius Richard Cane. His greatest asset, however, is Schaffer, who blends his surrealistic comedic sensibilities from "Hot Rod" and "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" with the pure slapstick mayhem of the original "Naked Gun" movies. His 2025 legacy sequel doesn't seek to reinvent the wheel and instead shows that it's possible to make crowd-pleasing comedies exactly like they used to. It's clear that this was made by people who revere what David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (otherwise known as ZAZ) brought to the comedy genre.
Schaffer's "Naked Gun" isn't just a great continuation of the original trilogy but a loving ode to the short-lived television series that started it all with "Police Squad." If you've only ever seen the "Naked Gun" movies, then I highly implore you to check out the deeply funny half hour comedy series you can finish in less time that it would take you to finish "The Batman." 1982's "Police Squad" was a parody of police procedurals like "M Squad" and "Adam-12" that was ahead of its time, playing its jokes completely straight without the use of a laugh track. It relied on brilliant sight gags such as "Act II: Bruté" when the show came back from its commercial break. Only six half-hour episodes of the groundbreaking series before it was unceremoniously cancelled by ABC executives because the jokes required viewers to actually pay attention to what they're watching.
The original "Naked Gun" trilogy ported over some of the series' best jokes, but its comedic tone reflected all manner of cop movies and other pop culture hits. Schaffer's film falls more in line with what the movies lampooned, but it ends with a very funny homage to its television predecessor that made me guffaw.
Read more: 15 Best Movies Without An Oscar
The Naked Gun Traps Drebin Jr. And Beth In The Police Squad Freeze Frame
In the aftermath of shutting down Edentech's rage-inducing signal, CCH Pounder's Chief Davis holds a press conference where she not only reinstates Police Squad's legitimacy, but ensures that Drebin Jr. is being thoroughly investigated for his violent actions outside the eye of the law. The film then hard cuts to a tropical-themed luxury resort sponsored by the folks at Internal Affairs, where Drebin Jr. and Beth are living it up in style. As the happy couple cheers to their romantic kinship, everything becomes frozen in place while the credits play over them. It appears as if they're fixed in place along with everyone else, but you quickly start to see them struggle to hold their positions. It's not unlike the uncomfortable end credits of "Pearl," where Mia Goth has a noticeably difficult time holding her pain-laden smile.
The difference here is that Drebin Jr. and Beth start to realize that nobody else around them is moving and break free from their spots. The credits keep on going while they walk around the I.A. resort in fear of what's happening. Beth pushes her hand through a mid-stream water fountain, while Drebin Jr. nearly pokes through the screen. At one point, Beth even whispers her terror of where the non-diegetic music could even be coming from. It's not just a brilliant use of the "Police Squad" theme but an updated version of the gag that ended every episode of the series.
"Police Squad" would always end with an epilogue where Nielsen and Hocken (here played by Alan North) would make a joke, then overlay the end credits on top of their frozen state. Some of the funniest examples are a criminal breaking free, Hocken pouring hot coffee onto Drebin's hand, and the set literally falling apart around them. It laid the foundation for the "Naked Gun" tradition of making you want to sit through the end credits because the jokes kept on coming.
After Schaffer's "Naked Gun" leaves the worried couple, there's still a whole bunch of other goodies, including an encore of the police siren gag from the first movie, a whole bunch of jokes in the text of the scrolling credits, a song from Drebin Jr., and a post-credits stinger with series alum Weird Al Yankovic. But it's the faux freeze frame reprise that gave me the biggest laugh.
"The Naked Gun" is now playing in theaters nationwide.
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