The Naked Gun (2025) movie review
A sharp, culturally aware reboot that tips its hat to the past while gleefully tripping over it. The Naked Gun is a satirical action-comedy that takes every '80s cop trope and lovingly slaps it with a rubber chicken.
The Plot (No Spoilers)
Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) – son of the famously clumsy detective – bungles his way from a failed bank heist to the suspicious death of Beth Davenport’s (Pamela Anderson) brother, a case she insists on investigating alongside him
Soon they’re tangled in a tech billionaire’s world-domination scheme powered by a mysterious gadget called the P.L.O.T. Device.
What follows is a string of stunts, romantic sparks, and enough banana-peel humour to keep an ambulance on standby.
Satire with 30 Years of Lived Experience
The Naked Gun movie trilogy was born in the ’80s golden era of serious, stoic screen cops – when cop dramas dominated the airwaves, much like today’s superhero saturation. Back then, The Naked Gun was the Deadpool of its day: satirical, refreshingly irreverent, and smarter than it let on.
The world’s moved on. Post–Black Lives Matter, the squeaky-clean “hero cop” is no longer the untouchable pop culture poster boy – and this reboot knows it. Actually, it milks it. The bumbling cop routine doesn’t land with the same satirical punch it once did. Still, The Naked Gun’s deadpan gags and slapstick comedy are charmingly reminiscent of the original trilogy, punching you right in the nostalgic feels.
The writing is sharp enough to slip in a few well-placed jabs at the badge. It winks at the audience in a tone that’s grown up alongside shifting cultural attitudes over the past 30 years. It’s a bold, self-aware continuation and course correction — and a much-needed redemption arc after The Naked Gun 33 1/3.
The new Naked Gun swaps the old-school evil conglomerate for today’s default villain: the flashy tech company. Swapping hoodies for black turtlenecks and suits gives it that ’90s villain aesthetic, but the trope itself feels functional more than inspired.
If the villain plot feels thin, the movie makes up for it with enough ’90s pop culture references to resurrect your Tamagotchi. The film dives in headfirst – and perhaps the ultimate ’90s reference herself appears in the flesh: a woman who needs no introduction… Pamela Anderson.
Pamela Anderson: Comeback Queen
Pamela’s continued resurgence is hotter than the undercollars of the horny pop culture mob who objectified her in the ’90s – the same crowd that burned her image into our collective psyche.
I remember sincerely wishing – on a wish chip, birthday candles, first star at night – that I’d never grow boobs, just so people wouldn’t make fun of me. (Basically the 9½-year-old version of asking for respect.)
So yes. Seeing this Pamela – clever, captivating, in control – felt like poetic justice.
Neeson/Nielsen: Careers and Names That Almost Rhyme
Then there’s Liam Neeson – better known for kidnapping plots than pratfalls – whose steely gravitas lends the action plenty of credibility while making the absurdity around him even funnier. It’s not his first foray into comedy (Love Actually, anyone?), but this role flips the script entirely.
Like Leslie Nielsen before him, Neeson plays it straight in a very crooked world.
With matching careers and names that practically rhyme, it’s got to be a deliberate callback. Surely.
The Verdict
Unlike the original trilogy, the humour is more culturally aware. The movie borrows wholesome gags that aged well – like a glass continuing to stir itself – while leaning into ’80s-style props such as dummy bodies, which somehow feel more respectful to the genre and audience than slick CGI.
The pacing starts silly, finds its rhythm, and eventually sprints toward full absurdity. Most gags are snort-chortle funny, though the nonstop barrage occasionally muddies the story. The tone, though? Spot on.
While the chemistry between Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson is surprisingly tender, it gives this old reboot a sweet new sparkle.
Final Score
4 out of 5 Choc Tops
If you’d rather be slapped with a stick than watch slapstick comedy, skip this one.
But if your pop culture references are frozen somewhere between Miami Vice and the Black Eyed Peas (Fergie era), you enjoy corny gags, deadpan humour, and watching serious actors let loose?
Then buckle up, Boo — The Naked Gun is worth a watch.
Title: The Naked Gun (2025)
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Actors: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson
Writers: Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, Akiva Schaffer
Genre: Parody, Action, Comedy, Slapstick
