IT’S never a good sign when two people walk out of a movie in the first 10 minutes. But nevertheless, I sat hopefully through the next 75 to discover that The Naked Gun 2025 was a real rollercoaster. And not in a good way.
The opening scene – the one from the trailer, in the bank, with the little girl – was so ridiculous I was hoping it would be a dream sequence.
But no, Drebin Jr really did kick people across the room and transform from a tiny small child into a full-size Neeson who is a Jackie Chan on steroids.
Then the titles desperately miss that Ira Newborn theme, but at least have a decent little gag over font size choices.
I made my first noise – I can’t say I Laughed Out Loud, but I definitely Ha’d Out Loud – upon seeing the plot device. Because the little piece of advanced tech that drives the movie forward is literally called P.L.O.T Device.
And the rest of the movie would follow along on this very gentle rollercoaster of decent gags and slightly disappointing gags.
Liam Neeson as Drebin Jr: Deadpan or Dead Wrong?
Neeson seemed promising as the son of Leslie Nielsen’s Drebin, but the clumsiness is mostly gone and replaced by angry arrogance. And leaves a void where charm, wit and humour used to be. In the words of gameshow host Roy Walker “it’s good but it’s not right”.
I’m not saying the movie is BAD. A couple of people laughed out loud. At least twice. Which was disappointing because I rushed to book my ticket after reading review after review of theatres full of people roaring with laughter from start to finish. I did not have that experience.
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Maybe other people all hysterically chuckling would’ve altered it. But what it couldn’t alter is how outrageously this movie misses Leslie Nielsen. And comedy in general.
There’s a couple of references for people of a certain age – those who grew up with the originals – such as Microsoft’s Clippy, Buffy and Sex and The City. As well as a Star Wars Wilhelm Scream. But they almost feel forced in to be relatable to that audience.
Pamela Anderson Shines in a Standout Role
However, Pamela Anderson is excellent. She would’ve fit perfectly in the OG 1988 movie or the ’91 sequel with her whispered, wonderful performance, especially when it’s accompanied by the smooth jazz music that connects the score to the old movies.
And it might be that one of the movie’s greatest achievements is thrusting two older leads back into the cinema spotlight again and showing they are totally capable of carrying a movie.
If all this movie ever does is give the world a new romantic optimism in the form of the real-world coupling of Liam and Pamela (as rumours suggest, but tbc) then it’s a huge win. And the movie’s greatest sequence might be the remake/rehash of the I’m Into Something Good scene from NG1 but set to Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship. It’s beautifully shot, has great vibes, a fun twist and feels authentically and preposterously Naked Gun.
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Yes, we get amusing background action. We get stupid things happen by accident with silly consequences. We get wordplay and ridiculous dialogue gags. It ticks a lot of boxes and throws the ingredients into the pan but the dish that arrives on the plate at our table isn’t quite what we hoped it would be when we ordered.
Did he ‘Scaffer’ off too much of what made the franchise great?
The blame, perhaps lies with director Akiva Schaffer or producer Seth McFarlane for choosing the tone and vision that veers slightly off track. It’s definitely in the vein of the older movies, but neither does it as well nor reinvents it significantly.
I don’t imagine in 10, 20 or 30 years time that people are going to be quoting memorable lines from this like we do with Nice Beaver.
Thanks, I just had it stuffed. And this movie feels a bit like the original that’s died and been off to the taxidermist.
But it does feel good to have a spoof back at the box office.
It just left me with one question: Could David Zucker have done it better?
IF YOU LIKE THE NAKED GUN 2025 THEN CHECKOUT OUR REWIND PODCAST EPISODE ABOUT THE ORIGINAL ’88 MOVIE!