The action star tries his hand at slapstick in this uneven but entertaining reboot that lacks the original’s manic energy
Watching Liam Neeson attempt comedy feels like a fascinating experiment. The man who spent the last decade perfecting his particular brand of vengeful father rage now finds himself wielding terrible puns instead of tactical skills. The results are surprisingly watchable, even if they don’t quite capture lightning in a bottle.
When It Works, It Really Works
The new “Naked Gun” delivers its best moment early. Sgt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Neeson) stands at a car crash scene, watching a tow truck equipped with a giant arcade claw attempt to lift the wreckage. The claw grabs the car, raises it halfway, then inevitably drops it. Everyone watching lets out a collective “Ohhhhhh!” – the exact sound every parent makes when their kid fails at the arcade claw machine.
It’s a perfect “Naked Gun” gag. Absurd, relatable, and timed with surgical precision. The movie needed more moments like this.
The Neeson Factor
Director Akiva Schaffer (of Lonely Island fame) made an interesting choice casting Neeson as the son of Leslie Nielsen’s iconic character. This Drebin isn’t the by-the-book buffoon his father was. He’s a rogue cop who breaks protocol while obsessing over “Sex and the City” and the Black Eyed Peas.
When asked about Miranda rights, he confidently responds: “I’m sure it’s Carrie who writes!” It’s the kind of earnest misunderstanding that made the original films work.
Neeson gamely throws himself into the physical comedy. He bites the heads off guns, survives increasingly ridiculous action sequences, and maintains his trademark intensity while delivering lines like “UCLA?” “I see it every day! I live here!” The contrast between his natural gravitas and the silly material creates some genuine laughs.
A Different Kind of Parody
This reboot targets different material than the 1988 original. Where the ZAZ team (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker) spoofed TV cop shows and film noir, Schaffer’s version takes aim at modern action movies and tech culture.
The villain is Richard Cane (Danny Huston), a Tesla-esque entrepreneur planning to unleash toxic gas that will reduce humanity to its “animal state.” It’s commentary wrapped in nonsense, which feels appropriate for our current moment.
The movie throws in visual gags that work better than expected. A remote control labeled “P.L.O.T. Device” during the opening heist sequence. Drebin constantly receiving comically oversized coffee cups. These touches show respect for the original’s attention to background details.
Where It Falls Short
The fundamental problem isn’t Neeson’s casting – it’s the movie’s energy level. The original “Naked Gun” films had a manic aggression that made audiences feel slightly unhinged. This version feels more controlled, more calculated.
Nielsen’s Drebin flowed through his scenes like a force of nature. Neeson’s version, while committed, feels more mechanical. You can sense the effort behind the performance instead of getting lost in the character’s oblivious confidence.
The script by Schaffer, Dan Gregor, and Doug Mand includes some genuinely edgy moments. A winter love montage featuring witchcraft, a living snowman, and a ménage à trois that turns into a slasher sequence. A dashcam sequence showing Drebin’s digestive disasters after eating chili dogs. These bits feel more daring than the rest of the film.
The Comedy Conundrum
Here’s the thing about reviewing comedy: we always struggle to find different words for “funny.” Critics cycle through “hilarious,” “witty,” “amusing,” and “chuckle-worthy” because the English language fails us when describing laughter.
The original “Naked Gun” was genuinely hilarious. It made audiences lose control. This reboot is amusing. It generates smiles and occasional laughs, but it won’t shock you into the kind of uncontrollable giggling that made the original special.
A Serviceable Revival
“The Naked Gun” 2024 succeeds as light entertainment without quite justifying its existence. Neeson’s willingness to lampoon his own tough-guy image provides the movie’s strongest hook. The production values are solid, the pacing keeps things moving, and there are enough genuine laughs to satisfy casual viewers.
But it lacks the anarchic spirit that made the ZAZ films feel dangerous. Those movies used genre parody to comment on everything from politics to media to human nature. This version feels safer, more concerned with being likable than being subversive.
The movie works best when it embraces its own weirdness. Pamela Anderson appears as femme fatale Beth Davenport, and when Neeson needs to give her a fake name at a restaurant, he looks around frantically and introduces her as “Miss Cherry Roosevelt Fat Bozo Chowing Down on Spaghetti.” It’s the kind of beautifully stupid moment that honors the original’s spirit.
The Verdict
This “Naked Gun” reboot won’t replace the original in anyone’s comedy pantheon, but it doesn’t embarrass itself either. Neeson’s against-type casting generates enough novelty to carry the thin plot, and Schaffer shows enough understanding of what made these movies work to avoid complete disaster.
It’s the cinematic equivalent of comfort food – familiar, satisfying in the moment, but not particularly memorable. Sometimes that’s enough.
★★★★
