Celebrating 31 years since Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Police Squad is back with a whole new everything with The Naked Gun starring Liam Neeson as Detective Frank Drebin, Jr., taking the lead from Leslie Nielsen and Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer taking over the reins from David Zucker. But is it really back?
The basic story is that, thanks to the dangerous antics of Frank Drebin, Jr., Police Squad is on the verge of losing all its funding and shutting down. Frank’s boss Chief Davis (CCH Pounder) is taking Frank off the bank robbery case, which opened the film and put him on auto collision duty with his partner, Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser).
While investigating the mountain road runoff where the driver died, Frank declares the death a suicide. Back at the station, the driver’s sister, Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), says that her brother would never kill himself. In fact, he had alarming information about his boss, billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Houston), and his head of security, Sig Gustofson (Kevin Durand). They were to meet, but he never showed because of the “accident.”
Now, Frank has to defy orders and investigate Richard Cane, and he may be connected to both the car accident and the bank robbery. But Cane has eyes everywhere and is on to Frank’s plans to connect him to the murders. While investigating a lead, Frank falls into Cane’s trap and is now the prime suspect in a murder perpetrated by Cane.
Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. and Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport in The Naked Gun reboot.
“Police Squad is on the verge of losing all its funding and shutting down.”
Suffice it to say, we’re not here for the plot. This is The Naked Gun for cryin’ out loud. We’re here for the sight gags, one-liners, and deadpan humor, and there is plenty of it. The best thing I can say is to try not to compare The Naked Gun with the original David Zucker originals. As much as director Akiva Schaffer may try to pay homage to Zucker, the movie is different.
As a student of the original series (plus Airplane! and Top Secret), I’m trying my best not to nitpick the differences. It’s not fair, and in the end, it’s not as good as the original (except 33 1/3). Schaffer is more than up for the task of rebooting the series. Popstar is one of my favorite comedies of the last ten years. My final verdict is that I laughed out loud on numerous occasions, my theater had fun, and maybe it played the jokes a little too safe, but no complaints. It’s a laughfest and, like many comedies, sputters in the third act.
Liam Neeson is a suitable replacement for Nielsen. He understands deadpan and works in this modern world that hates to offend anyone…almost. Paul Walter Houser is fine as the straight man, and Pam Anderson is still pretty hot. I don’t think she quite captures the hearts of America like Priscilla Presley, but I’m not comparing this to the original…
In the end, I would have much preferred an Akiva Schaffer police parody than a rebooted Naked Gun. Recreating the past comes with so much baggage that sometimes the final product would have been better if it were an original. In other words, you’re not bound by the rules of the original…embrace freedom.
Ultimately, The Naked Gun reboot delivers enough laughs to make it worth the ride, even if it never quite escapes the shadow of its predecessors. Liam Neeson steps into Frank Drebin’s shoes with solid deadpan charm, and Akiva Schaffer keeps the gags coming, even if they feel a bit safer this time around. It may not redefine the franchise, but for fans of slapstick and absurdity, it’s a welcome return to the Police Squad cinematic universe.
"…Recreating the past comes with so much baggage."
