Liam Neeson commits to the bit in a new riff on the comedy classic.
The secret to The Naked Gun is being absolutely shameless in pursuit of a laugh. There can be no ego involved – that was the great Leslie Nielsen’s secret. Never forget, this was a guy who used to carry around a fart machine just in case he ever felt the need to lighten the mood a little.
Now, stony-faced old Liam Neeson has a bit of a gift for deadpan comedy – take a look at his “improv” on Life’s Too Short. But could he ever match the late Nielsen’s talent for complete, barrel-scraping, no-joke-too-low silliness? Well, judge for yourself.
The Naked Gun Trailer
What’s the plot?
All the official synopsis has to offer us is this:
Only one man has the particular set of skills… to lead Police Squad and save the world! Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) follows in his father’s footsteps in The Naked Gun, directed by Akiva Schaffer (Saturday Night Live, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) and from producer Seth MacFarlane (Ted, Family Guy).
Which doesn’t clue us into much, but it’s not like the plot has ever been particularly important here.
Who’s in it?
- Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr.
- Pamela Anderson as Beth, and gosh it’s cool to see her again.
- Paul Walter Hauser as Capt. Ed Hocken Jr.
- Moses Jones as Nordberg Jr.
- Kevin Durand
- Danny Huston
- Liza Koshy
- Cody Rhodes
- CCH Pounder
- Busta Rhymes
- Michael Bisping
- Eddy Yu
When’s it out?
The Naked Gun hits Australian cinemas on August 21, 2025.
What’s the vibe?
Look, it’s pretty hard to be this entertainingly dumb. To the untrained eye there may be little to differentiate the Zucker-Abrams-Zucker gang, who gave us the excellent Airplane! and The Naked Gun flicks, and cultural war criminals Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, who inflicted Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans upon an innocent world. But to a connoisseur, the contrast is stark. So far this new Naked Gun seems to carrying on the original’s fine tradition of unabashed silliness, and I’m digging it.
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