Tags: blog, film, comedy, 2025, recommended
Author: KickingK
Date: Saturday September 06th, 2025
The Beaver is still nice
There are lot’s of ways to pay homage to the original when remaking a beloved franchise. One way is to stuff your new version with knowing nods and winks. Make the gap between the originals and the new one part of the fabric of the new story.
Another is to hide those details in the background. Little easter eggs for eagle eyed fans to catch. Allow the new thing to be its own thing whilst letting those fans know they’re being acknowledged.
This new version of The Naked Gun does both of those things, with enthusiasm. However, the primary way it show’s it’s respect to the original is that it whole heartedly commits to being a Naked Gun film.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then Zucker, Abrahams & Zucker understood that the soul of a comedy film was density. Pack the jokes in faster than the viewer can keep up. If you don’t find that joke funny, wait a few seconds and they’ll be another one. And throw in every type of joke you can think of: slapstick, puns, visual gags, fourth wall breaks, crudity, satire, surrealism or a combination of some/all of them. Bury the viewer under an avalanche of jokes to the point where they can barely breath for laughing.
This new Naked Gun from Schaffer, Gregor & Mand understands that completely. The jokes start almost immediately, the only time the film goes more than a few seconds without one is the opening minute. After that, the finger is held down firmly on the trigger and a rat-a-tat-tat of jokes spews forth, not stopping until the copyright notices at the end of the credits.
Liam Neeson isn’t quite as good as Leslie Nielson, he’s ever so slightly more expressive, slightly less reserved. But he’s still magnificent and I can’t think of anyone who could play the role better.
Pamela Anderson is surprisingly un-sultry in her role as the femme fatale. And surprisingly magnificent when allowed to take the lead with the comedy. Unfortunately she’s under used in this aspect but her one solo scene, a jazz club performance, is magnificent and a highlight of the film.
Occasionally, the film tries to update the humour to fit with modern times with mixed results. The jokes about police brutality struggle a bit. Police Squad works as a satire of film noir, not so much the realities of policing. One segment involving dash/body cams is the films only dud section.
It’s so refreshing to have Frank Drebin and this particular brand of humour back. I’ve not seen a film with this many jokes in it for a very, very long time. And whilst it never quite manages to hit the heights of quality and quantity of it’s predecessors, this still manages to be one of the very best out and out comedies of recent years.
