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The Naked Gun Review
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
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Directed By: Akiva Schaffer
Written By: Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Akiva Schaffer; Based on Police Squad! by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker
Runtime: 114 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG-13 for crude/sexual material, violence/bloody images and brief partial nudity.
Liam Neeson – Frank Drebin Jr.
Pamela Anderson – Beth Davenport
Paul Walter Hauser – Ed Hocken Jr.
Danny Huston – Richard Cane
CCH Pounder – Chief Davis
Kevin Durand – Sig Gustafson
Liza Koshy – Detective Barnes
Busta Rhymes – Bank Robber
Cody Rhodes – Bartender
Wilbur Fitzgerald – Dan Daly
Jon Anik – Himself
Michael Bisping – Himself
Bruce Buffer – Himself
Continuing the trend of revival or reboot these days, Hollywood dusts off The Naked Gun for the cinematic reboot treatment. The Naked Gun franchise was part of a line of spoof movies of yore, a dying breed that went out of style in the 2000s, but appears to be mounting a bit of a comeback. Unfortunately, the new Naked Gun does little to set itself apart as a rip-roaring, laugh-out-loud comedy to match its predecessor.
Liam Neeson plays against his usual type, riffing on his later career exploits as an action hero and macho movie tough guy, thanks to the Taken series. The idea of Neeson sending up his second act as an action hero phenom sounds brilliant on paper, but less so in execution. He stars as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., the widower son of Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), of the short-lived Police Squad series and the subsequent Naked Gun films.
After taking down some bank robbers at the beginning, Drebin’s boss, Chief Davis (Pounder), assigns him to a car accident that appears to be an open-and-shut case. However, the victim’s sister, crime novelist Beth Davenport (Anderson), believes her brother was murdered and that his boss, the rich and powerful technology industrialist, Richard Kane (Huston), was involved. Her instincts prove correct, as Kane plans to use a stolen object called the “P.L.O.T. Device” to bring about a global apocalypse. It’s now up to Drebin Jr. to solve the case and make his daddy proud.
Considering Neeson’s skills as an actor, something appears off with his performance as Drebin. He simply lacks the deadpan charisma to pull off the material. As a result, his performance with the comedic material does not come off as particularly sincere or genuine, and it lacks a certain authenticity. The same cannot be said for Pamela Anderson, who far outshines. Anderson proves to be a more naturally gifted comedienne, but her organic comedic style awkwardly clashes with Neeson’s stiffness.
Additionally, Akiva Schaffer and his script, which he co-wrote with Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, make poor use of Paul Walter Hauser, who portrays Ed Hocken Jr., the son of George Kennedy’s Ed Hocken from the original trilogy. Hauser is there, but he has very little to do and only appears sparingly throughout the film.
The film does have its moments. At many points, The Naked Gun attempts unsuccessfully to emulate the look and style of the original films and the unique energy David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker brought to their spoofs. The best recurring gag and one of the film’s clever motifs, involves the Police Squad officers constantly grabbing coffee cups that are repeatedly handed to them. Anderson displays a funny moment for her character when she takes the stage to create a distraction for Drebin at a nightclub. However, rather than serenading Richard Cane with a soothing, seductive tune, she belts out a hilarious scat rap.
Elsewhere, the movie borrows jokes and gags that were used elsewhere and started getting tired decades ago. The silhouette joke, making a voyeur misunderstand the true meaning of what is taking place, serves as the perfect example, and it does not even attempt a new spin. As a result, The Naked Gun reboot lacks its own definable identity and simply rehashes jokes from decades-old movies and shows.
As a tribute cover band act, The Naked Gun cannot even deliver the greatest hits. The biggest disappointment comes from the use of the original, iconic theme song of The Naked Gun. The opening theme song and credit sequences stood out as the main draws of the originals. Instead, The Naked Gun eschews it for a short opening title gag. The police car siren gag makes an utterly disappointing return, but only at the end, using old footage from the original movie. It’s bad enough that most movies are dropping opening credit sequences, which heighten a film’s mood and ambiance, but The Naked Gun losing its trademark opening credit sequence represents a poor choice.
If The Naked Gun had made the effort putting its own unique spin on the police squad car siren opening sequence, it would have experienced greater success selling its experience. Maybe Akiva Schaffer thought it would be too predictable or wanted to go in a different direction. However, to jettison the opening credit sequence entirely in favor of shoving it in at the end, as a stock footage homage, is even more disappointing. The Naked Gun without that sequence should be a federal crime.
The Naked Gun certainly isn’t the worst comedy to hit theaters this year, but as a legacy reboot, it fails to reach the heights of its predecessors. Additionally, the poor utilization of the classic opening credit sequence makes the experience fall flat on its face.
