Harry's Movie Review

The Naked Gun brings back the franchise with Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., following in his father's footsteps while Police Squad faces closure. Director Akiva Schaffer leans hard into physical comedy and absurdist humor. It is unashamed slapstick, and for most of the runtime, that works. The film knows what it is and does not apologize for it.

Neeson commits to the bit. He plays it straight while ridiculous things happen around him, which is the whole job for this character, and he handles it better than you might expect from an action star known for intensity. Paul Walter Hauser finds moments of genuine timing. Pamela Anderson and the supporting cast feel like they are in on the joke, which matters when the humor is this broad. No one is phone-checking their way through a paycheck.

The pace is brisk at 85 minutes, which works in its favor. Schaffer keeps things moving fast enough that bad jokes do not linger. Where the film wobbles is in the middle stretch, where some gags repeat without variation and the narrative threads get thin. It is not quite enough to derail the whole thing, but you notice the wheels spinning.

I walked out thinking about how rare it is to see a comedy that just wants to be funny without chasing something deeper. The Naked Gun does not wrestle with meaning. It tells a silly story and fills it with jokes. Some land, some do not, but the energy never stops. That clarity of purpose stuck with me more than any individual laugh.