![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/JBPLI6MONFICHXKQRAXLAN2ZRU.jpg\")
From left: Eddie Yu as Detective Park, Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., and Paul Walter Hauser as Ed Hocken Jr. Photo Credit: Frank Masi\/Frank Masi<\/p>\nAfter three successful films, Nielsen was so inextricably tied to the role that no one in their right mind would consider rebooting the franchise. Until now, that is. <\/p>\n
Director Akiva Schaffer (of The Lonely Island, alongside Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone) and his team of co-writers, Doug Mand and Dan Gregor, bring us a new case from the files of \u201cPolice Squad.\u201d As Frank Drebin, Jr., son of Nielsen\u2019s hero, they cast Liam Neeson. You may remember him from the 1988 Justine Bateman star vehicle, \u201cSatisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
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From left: Eddie Yu as Detective Park, Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., and Paul Walter Hauser as Ed Hocken Jr. Photo Credit: Frank Masi\/Frank Masi<\/p>\n
With his gruff demeanor, and penchant for having a particular set of skills in numerous action movies and dramas, Neeson seems like an inappropriate choice for an absurdist comedy. But it helps to remember that, before the ZAZ team cast him in \u201cAirplane,\u201d Nielsen was mostly known for dramatic and bad guy roles. <\/p>\n
The fun of watching \u201cAirplane\u201d back in 1980 was seeing serious actors make complete fools of themselves while keeping a straight face. The allure of that situation made the ZAZ movies even more hilarious. So, casting Liam Neeson continues that fine tradition of hiring people audiences wouldn\u2019t expect to be funny.<\/p>\n
At least that\u2019s what the filmmakers want you to believe. If you ask me, I say they cast him because Liam Neeson sounds a lot like Leslie Nielsen. Say it with me: \u201cNielsen, Neeson, Neeson, Nielsen! Neeson, Nielsen, Nielsen, Neeson!\u201d <\/p>\n
Confusing, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
I digress. Either I continue to do that, or I make my word count by spoiling all the gags and jokes this reboot crams into its 85-minute runtime. And I\u2019ll do it, too, if you complain.<\/p>\n
Journalistic integrity requires me to be serious, so like Liam Neeson, let me be Frank: Despite being so paint-by-numbers faithful to the first \u201cNaked Gun\u201d movie\u2019s plot beats that you can point them out, this is still pretty damn funny. Schaffer and his team generate enough laughs for you to forgive this film\u2019s trespasses. <\/p>\n
\u201cSurely, you can\u2019t be serious!\u201d you gasp in surprise. I am serious! And you\u2019re quoting the wrong movie.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Naked Gun\u201d begins with a nod to the Spike Lee-Denzel Washington heist movie, \u201cInside Man.\u201d A bank robbery is in progress, and while there are guns and drama in the lobby, the real theft is occurring in the safe deposit box room. An unnamed robber blasts a hole in one of the drawers and steals a contraption that\u2019s been conveniently labelled \u201cP.L.O.T. Device.\u201d <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a Girl Scout enters the bank and proceeds to take out all the other bank robbers. Turns out she\u2019s Frank Drebin Jr. in disguise! Drebin is so brutal in his violence that the criminals sue Police Squad. The current Chief of Police Squad (CCH Pounder) yells at Drebin, interrupting a ceremony honoring the capture of his 1,000th criminal.<\/p>\n
![\"Left](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GQIK5ZVM5Y757DUGBO7CSID36U.jpg\")
Left to right: Paul Walter Hauser, Liam Neeson, and CCH Pounder.Frank Masi<\/p>\n
Turns out that the robbery has something to do with tech billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston). Cane\u2019s company makes driverless cars covered with so many lights that they look like rejects from \u201cTron.\u201d He\u2019s also a stand-in for a certain person whose website\u2019s name begins (and ends) with X. <\/p>\n
When Cane\u2019s top employee Sam Davenport is killed in one of Cane\u2019s driverless cars, Police Squad closes the case as an accident. But Drebin\u2019s mind is changed by a slinky blonde name Beth (Pamela Anderson) who may or may not be this film\u2019s femme fatale. She is most definitely Sam\u2019s sister, and quite possibly a love interest for Drebin. Beth thinks her brother was murdered by Cane, and she\u2019s going to do her own investigation\u2014and her own singing. <\/p>\n
![\"Pamela](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5PRZTW5HREXNCM4DOZV742D7XQ.jpg\")
Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport and Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. Frank Masi<\/p>\n
Convinced of Cane\u2019s evildoing, Drebin teams up with his partner, Ed (Paul Walter Hauser) to solve the case, despite the fact that Drebin keeps getting thrown off of it due to his antics. Ed is the son of Drebin Sr\u2019s partner, Ed (played by George Kennedy in the original films), and Hauser and Neeson inherit a similar buddy cop chemistry from Neeson and Kennedy. <\/p>\n
Through my laughter, I kept noticing how neatly this film parallels its predecessor. The plot involves mind control, for starters. Both films have cold opens that highlight Drebin\u2019s heroics. And they both have inappropriately comic romantic montages set to perky songs: In the original, the scene is set to \u201cI\u2019m Into Something Good\u201d by Herman\u2019s Hermits and features a nod to \u201cPlatoon.\u201d This one uses \u201cNothing\u2019s Gonna Stop Us Now\u201d and has an homage to the dreadful Michael Fassbender cop mystery, \u201cThe Snowman,\u201d that must be seen to be believed.<\/p>\n
![\"Danny](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/QYNCRPXIWJGWFJM5PRCLGDZHRY.jpg\")
Danny Huston as Richard Cane.Paramount Pictures<\/p>\n
To his credit, Neeson remains suitably deadpan. The film makes the occasional mistake of spoofing the actor\u2019s persona rather than cop movies, but that\u2019s forgivable. Anderson has a goofy charm that reminds us that this isn\u2019t her first comedy rodeo (she was on \u201cHome Improvement,\u201d remember?). And Huston leans into the evil that techbros do, never breaking despite the ridiculous things Cane is forced to endure.<\/p>\n
As the old WWII ads used to say, \u201cWas this trip really necessary?\u201d It isn\u2019t. However, Neeson and his partners in crime makes the journey pleasant enough. The filmmakers even pay tribute to ZAZ by inserting crazy credits into the end credits scroll. (Be sure to read them!) Plus, there\u2019s a post-credits sequence that features a well-known celebrity.<\/p>\n
Nothing will replace the original in your hearts and minds. But you\u2019ll still have a good time here. To paraphrase good old Frank Drebin Sr., \u201cThe Naked Gun\u201d has real laughs \u2014 without utensils.<\/p>\n
\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n
THE NAKED GUN <\/b><\/p>\n
Directed by Akiva Schaffer. Written by Schaffer, Doug Mand, Dan Gregor. Starring Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, CCH Pounder. At AMC Boston Common, Landmark Kendall Square, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, AMC Causeway, suburbs. 85 min. PG-13 (guns aren\u2019t the only naked things on display)<\/p>\n
Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe’s film critic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After three successful films, Nielsen was so inextricably tied to the role that no one in their right…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":105014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[171,53,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-105013","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114942648641199647","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}