In the last ten years, Hollywood has been in perpetual existential anguish over its failure to sell mid-to-high budget comedies. These films – whether they be romantic comedies, action comedies, or simply situational comedies – were the middle class which the empire of Hollywood sustained itself on, and now they’ve all but vanished. This is a self-inflicted wound, an intentional calculation by studio heads to only invest in maximum profit (one of many consequences of the decrepit stages of Late Capitalism). The salad days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have left movie bosses unable to produce or promote a comedy that people want to see in a theater, and conditioned them to wait for streaming. It’s in this specific context that Akiva Schaffer’s reboot of The Naked Gun becomes one of the most important films of 2025.
Schaffer is one-third of the Lonely Island trio, which includes fellow filmmaker Jorma Taccone and star comedic actor Andy Samberg. The group revolutionized short form comedy and revitalized Saturday Night Live with their digital shorts, crafting hysterical pre-produced skits that “went viral” before that was a thing that was regularly said. Samberg has become a successful actor and performer in his own right, while Schaffer and Taccone have become comedy directors, attempting to resurrect the 90s/00s comedies that they hold dear. What their films (which include MacGruber, Hot Rod, and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) have in common – beside being hilarious – is that they were initial box office no shows before finding cult status and large fanbases years later.
The Naked Gun has grander ambitions for financial success than any of those previous films. For one, the film has the full backing of its studio, Paramount Studios, which has committed a full press tour. It also stars Liam Neeson, a genuine movie star with decades of proven commercial value. And lastly, it has the name recognition of one of the more beloved comedy franchises of the 80s/90s. Simply said, it would be noticed if this legacy sequel were to be a box office disappointment, unlike Schaffer’s previous ventures. Furthermore, Paramount’s heavy promotion has put the film in an unenviable position: its success or failure is set to become a statement on the mortality of the studio comedy in general. A classic fatalist case of “if this doesn’t work, what will?”
It’s incredibly unfair to make The Naked Gun a referendum on theatrical comedy, but that discourse has become synonymous with the film’s release. A discourse that has come dangerously close to overshadowing the fact that Schaffer’s film is one the most successful studio comedies in years. The Naked Gun films may not have the most well-known IP, but they were built from the well-tuned architecture of the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams. These guys are comedy legends who made some of the most famous comedies ever made (Airplane, Top Secret, Hot Shots). Putting aside the tenuous socioeconomic state of Hollywood comedy, this film was already set to face the burden of expectation, so it’s an incredible delight that the film is hysterically funny.
Filling the shoes of Leslie Nielson is the most difficult task in rebooting this franchise. As his new Lt. Frank Drebin, Schaffer has chose Liam Neeson. Neeson isn’t the immediate choice people would make to lead a broad comedy. A career that began with projects of major prestige (does it get any more prestigious than Schindler’s List?), gave way to over a decade of action films with diminishing returns. His career took a minor hit after having what was an extremely inappropriately-phrased expression of racist feelings he had in his past. His attempt to express shame over thoughts he once had instead felt like a proclamation of Bronson-esque urban vigilantism that threatened to disgrace his entire career. All’s to say, The Naked Gun is his first major studio release in over five years. It’s never a big surprise when a dramatic actor has exceptional comedic timing, but Schaffer’s use of Neeson, and all the baggage that that entails, is nothing short of brilliant. Taking the brooding figure of Taken and A Walk Among the Tombstones, and putting him within the context of this film’s zany police squad is a brilliant premise in and of itself.
Early in the film, we learn that he is actually Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Nielson’s original Police squad lieutenant. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Frank ambles through various crime scenes vacillating in between precise police work and baffling incompetence. Frank Jr’s tendency to bend the law to catch his man makes him a real pain for the police chief (CCH Pounder), who insists that Frank follow the rule book. This becomes increasingly difficult when Frank gets put on a seeming suicide case of a man who drove his electric vehicle off of a cliff. Frank finds some evidence that connects the deceased to tech giant Richard Cane (Danny Huston). And when the dead man’s sister, the beautiful Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), visits Frank’s office to insist her brother wasn’t suicidal, the beginnings of a conspiracy enter his mind.
Even the greatest of the Zucker/Abrahams comedies were run on incredibly sophomoric humor. Where the cleverness came in was the density of the jokes and the precision of their placement. The film’s script (written by Schaffer, as well as Dan Gregor and Doug Mand) runs on a very similar template, though Schaffer expertly weaves in elements of heightened absurdity that recalls the director’s Lonely Island roots. Neeson is directed to play the character straight, rarely angling for the laugh; a confident decision that only highlights the surprising versatility of Neeson’s screen presence. The more surprising performance may be Anderson’s, who fits in perfectly as the love interest. Anderson’s performance here is twelve thousand times more impressive than her SAG-nominated work in the abysmal The Last Showgirl, and I’m happy to report this is a much better showcase of her talent.
The best part of The Naked Gun is probably what it reminds you of. Specifically, what it feels like to be in a full movie theater watching a movie that is genuinely funny. That tension of wanting to give each joke its proper response while also wanting to catch the next one. The jokes are so fast and furious in this one that you know some are falling through the cracks. This is the true sign of a lasting comedy classic, the promise that subsequent viewings will showcase jokes you missed the first time. Watching The Naked Gun with a full audience is a reminder of how joyous it can be when cinema is able to be a truly communal experience. So perhaps this film – which is, in many ways, simply a vessel for jokes that a twelve-year-old boy would enjoy – is having its importance overinflated. Perhaps it is just another movie, but its good enough (and funny enough) to earn a large audience. But is that audience still there?
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Directed by Akiva Schaffer