The Naked Gun is Back and Crazier Than Ever

Satirical farce is making a comeback in 2025. Both Happy Gilmore 2 (Netflix) and The Naked Gun are tapping into audiences that most likely weren’t even born when their predecessors hit the silver screen.  Yet, here we are with Akiva Schaffer’s reboot starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson.

Alongside partner Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser), Frank (Neeson) is one of the top cops in Police Squad, a special unit of the LAPD where there’s no end to the coffee cups. After trying to bust up a bank robbery dressed as a little girl, Frank is visited by a femme fatale-type named Beth (Pamela Anderson), whose brother was murdered. His mysterious death ties to rich electric car mogul Richard Cane (Danny Huston).  Frank and Beth partner up, going to nightclubs and an MMA event to bust up Cane’s dastardly secret plans.

Screenwriters Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Schaffer do well not to imitate the original, but rather lean into the comedy prowess of Anderson and Nesson as they literally make fun of themselves and images they have crafted cinematically for decades.  This film never takes itself too seriously and neither do its stars who are committed 10000000% to their shenanigans.  Who knew I needed to watch Pamela Anderson do stinker karaoke or watch Nesson eating chili dogs providing a fart ballet would make me so incredibly happy and satisfied.

While there are moments like these that will make audiences chuckle, especially one where Nordberg Jr. (Moses Jones) throws a self-aware glance to camera when he looks at a picture of his dad (O.J. Simpson), a Bill Cosby wine gag, or an infrared camera gag with a dog (I’ll let you figure that one out), this version feels outdated and stuck in the 2000’s.

Fans of the franchise will guffaw with laughter as my cohorts did at the screening I attended.  For me, the star power and professionalism of Anderson and Neeson make are what makes this version hilariously enjoyable.  But, having said that not everything needs a reboot.  Sometimes the originals are in a class by themselves.