"The law's reach never stretched this far."
Only one man has the particular set of skills... to lead Police Squad and save the world: Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. Following in his father's footsteps, he must solve a murder case to prevent Police Squad from closure.
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
Eddie Yu
Detective Park
Michael Beasley
Detective Taylor
Only one man has the particular set of skills... to lead Police Squad and save the world: Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. Following in his father's footsteps, he must solve a murder case to prevent Police Squad from closure.
Pretty fun and plenty of the gags in the same vein as the original. Not a great comedy but fun nevertheless and Liam Neeson was a great choice with his deadpan delivery. **3.0/5**
The Naked Gun is written by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Akira Schaffer, while Schaffer also directs. The Gregor, Mand, and Schaffer were also behind Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. The new film is not only homage to The Naked Gun franchise, but also to 1990s comedy in general. The comedy in the film is strictly gag after gag with little breaks in between. The story is basic and barely followed; it’s strictly there to help bridge the downtime from one gag to the next. The majority of the film rips off other big action films. The trailer and references to characters from the other films make this clear, but this is a legacy sequel to The Naked Gun 331/3: The Final Insult and not a reboot. Lt. Frank Drebin Jr (Liam Neeson) is the son of Leslie Nielsen’s version of the character, but not the baby at the end of The Final Insult. It’s said that Liam Neeson’s character is a child from a relationship Frank Drebin didn’t know he fathered and is much older. The film opens with a bank heist lifted straight out of The Dark Knight (complete with music that sounds similar to Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard’s score). Frank takes out all the bank robbers by himself, but not before the P.L.O.T. Device is stolen, which was the real target. Drebin begins investigating the death of Simon Davenport, who worked for Edentech mastermind Richard Cane (Danny Huston). Cane intends to use the P.L.O.T. Device to devolve humanity back to their barbaric Neanderthal ways. The rich will hunker down until the poor and mediocre all kill each other, while the wealthy can rule what remains of the world (a la Kingsman). While Frank believes Simon committed suicide, his sister Beth (Pamela Anderson) tries to convince him otherwise. Frank and Beth begin working together to thwart Cane’s plan. Like Rescue Rangers, the comedy of The Naked Gun is extremely hit or miss. Some of the gags work incredibly well, including an infrared sequence that looks like Frank and Beth (and a dog) are committing sexual acts on each other, and a romantic montage involving a snowman that is the most outrageous part of the film. On one hand, the comedy isn’t necessarily straightforward, but its spitfire formula is somewhat exhausting at times and feels like something that wouldn’t be as enjoyable on repeat viewings of the film. On the other hand, though, there are some aspects to the film hidden in the background, like Easter eggs that may only be caught on the second or third viewing. There are some truly hysterical moments in The Naked Gun; Frank and Cane’s lengthy conversation on the Black Eyed Peas and Frank’s rant about TiVo to Beth are the memorable cream of a ridiculous crop. There’s a Daffy Duck Looney Tunes short from 1948 called Daffy Dilly. A tycoon named J.B. Cubish will pay $1 million to the first person who makes him laugh. Daffy tries everything in his comedic arsenal, but nothing works until Daffy clumsily trips and falls and makes Cubish laugh hysterically. The end of the short sees Cubish throwing pie after pie at Daffy’s face while laughing uncontrollably. The Naked Gun’s comedy is essentially throwing pie after pie at the audience and seeing what sticks or will be remembered. It just keeps piling on. Maybe you like pie, but having them thrown at your face for 80 minutes, regardless of whether they’re different flavors or not, becomes redundant, overwhelming, and overkill. The whole point of the Naked Gun franchise is that there isn’t a structure apart from making way for the over-the-top silliness. It looks like the film was a ton of fun to make because all of the performances are just as preposterous as the rest of the film. But maybe The Naked Gun is too on the nose and captures an era of comedy that doesn’t work as well anymore. Our attention spans may not be what they used to be, but a handful of seconds of story sandwiched between six excessive gags, a dozen absurd one-liners, and Liam Neeson choking down chili dogs so he can crap his pants for a longer period is excessive. There are some fun and hilarious moments in The Naked Gun, but it’s a barrage of slapstick comedy with unlimited ammo regarding its ludicrous content. The film is a lot like having a thousand punchlines to one joke or one setup. People enjoy gag reels from movies, but The Naked Gun is like 700 gag reels stitched together to make a somewhat cohesive film.
Liam Neeson is the one bright spot in director Akiva Schaffer‘s otherwise disappointing reboot of “The Naked Gun.” His deadpan delivery and complete commitment to absurdity prove he was the right actor to inherit the legacy of Leslie Nielsen’s iconic Lt. Frank Drebin, but even he can’t carry the film all by himself. With a script peppered with unfunny Millennial pop culture references and mostly lazy, ill-timed jokes, this is one of the biggest disappointments of the year. For the first half, it’s a promising, chuckle-filled ride with a couple of inspired gags that even had me laughing to the point of tears. But then something goes horribly wrong. The laughs evaporate, the energy dies, and the film collapses into a pit of painfully unfunny slapstick and stale parody. What starts off as a decent spoof with real comedic potential quickly devolves into a slog of cheap, juvenile humor that never lands. The story is serviceable and the tone mimics the original ridiculousness of the original films, but the second half is so lacking in wit or timing that it feels like a completely different (and far worse) movie. It’s frustrating, because this could have worked. Neeson is great, and there are flashes of brilliance in the form of creative sight gags and one-liners, but they’re buried in a script that runs out of steam far too early. Instead of revitalizing the beloved franchise, “The Naked Gun” limps to the finish line with the kind of sophomore-level comedy that makes you cringe more than laugh. By: Louisa Moore / SCREEN ZEALOTS
Liam Neeson does a pretty good Leslie Nielson impresson. Whoa. The names are as similar as the movie. Classic jokes. Goofy stuff. Kind of funny. Kind of not. But...familiar and warm. Like Liam Neeson cuddling you to sleep at night. 1 hour and 14 minutes! Should get an award for that.
The newest adventures of "The Police Squad" start with pure mayhem. There is no lack of absurdity, in any way, shape, or form. The silliness is already off the chart, *Spoiler* "On second thought, I think I will take that chair." *Spoiler* Liam Neeson is in rare form and doing Neilson right with his portrayal of a Police Squad officer, and Pamela Anderson is simply a joy to see in such a silly role again. An excellent addition to the "Naked Gun" family of film orgasms for us all to enjoy, without any gaudy or pointless nudity to ruin our laugh-a-thon.
71/100 A megalomaniac plans to activate a device that will make everyone kill each other but Lt. Detective Frank Drebin (Jr.) is on the case. Perfectly capturing the style and humor of the original Police Squad movies, the film is full of call backs and gags that are easily recognizable but modernized into something unique and original. Liam Neeson is perfect for the role and the rest of the cast plays their parts with all seriousness while being laugh-out-loud ridiculous. The infrared binocular gag was hysterical. My wife and I found this both nostalgic and hilarious. -- DrNostromo.com
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