Review: Liam Neeson Aside, 'Naked Gun' Fires Blanks
LOS ANGELES, AUG 7 – The 2025 reboot of The Naked Gun stars Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., reviving the slapstick humor of the original 1980s films with new gags and a contemporary cast.
- The Naked Gun reboot directed by Akiva Schaffer stars Liam Neeson as Detective Frank Drebin in a 2025 Paramount release featuring a police procedural with a bank robbery and a sinister billionaire plot.
- This reboot follows Leslie Nielsen's iconic Police Squad! movies but emerges amid broader cultural shifts after George Floyd's 2020 death prompted reevaluation of police depictions in entertainment.
- The film replicates Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker's rapid-fire satire, slapstick, and non-sequitur humor while including a PG-13 rating for crude content, brief nudity, and violence, with Paul Walter Hauser and Pamela Anderson in key roles.
- Pamela Anderson's character Beth Davenport ends the movie with the line, "You've made me a very happy woman, Frank," while Paul Walter Hauser receives praise for his role as Ed Hocken Jr.
- The reboot's mixed reception reflects tensions between honoring the original's comedic spirit and addressing contemporary views on policing, suggesting ongoing debate over police-themed comedy's place in popular culture.
51 Articles
51 Articles

Review: Liam Neeson aside, 'Naked Gun' fires blanks
A perfect choice to play Frank Drebin Jr. (Senior was played by Leslie Nielsen), Neeson deadpans his way through several good laughs, then tries to rescue several D.O.A. ones.
The laughs land in 'The Naked Gun' reboot, but fall flat in 'Freakier Friday'
The new Naked Gun film, starring Liam Neeson, captures its predecessors' slapstick spirit. Freakier Friday, meanwhile, proves less compelling, despite a solid performance by Lindsey Lohan.

The surprisingly triumphant return of ‘The Naked Gun’
Five summers ago, we were told to wear masks, compelled to take vaccines, prohibited from looking at certain statues (which were helpfully torn down), and scolded for enjoying any movie or TV show that presented law enforcement officers empathetically or…
'The Naked Gun' Writer Reflects On Backlash To His Live-Action 'Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers': "You Can’t Be So Reverential To The Thing That Came Before"
While many were less than thrilled with the film’s irreverent treatment of its various source materials, Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers writer Dan Gregor stands by his decision to run roughshod over Disney’s catalog of classics, as he believes that such a nostalgia-driven project is not worth undertaking without an appropriate level of pot stirring. Chip (John Mulaney) takes a trip down memory lane in Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022), Disney RE…
The Naked Gun Reboot Misfires Despite Star Power Spark - Falls Church News
The reboot of the The Naked Gun, released nationally August 1, doesn’t have quite the appeal of the original film series. The zeitgeist of the times has changed, and this movie doesn’t keep up. Although there were some good laugh out loud moments scattered throughout the relatively short film, not much felt particularly innovative or
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 77% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium