First Take: The Naked Gun - turns out Hollywood can make a silly comedy in 2025

SYNOPSIS: Only one man has the particular set of skills - to lead Police Squad and save the world.

Well, it took them long enough to reopen the files of Police Squad. Scripts might have been written by the Zuckers for a 4th instalment before the unfortunate passing of Leslie Nielsen, but it somehow took Seth MacFarlane coming on board as a producer (having parodied the iconic intro sequence to the films in an episode of Family Guy) to get things rolling on a brand new Naked Gun film for a new generation. They always say good things come to those who wait, and this is no exception - because for audiences coming into the world of Police Squad, this is a great reintroduction.

Akiva Schaffer of The Lonely Island and SNL fame is the man tasked with taking the shoes of David Zucker for the reboot, and considering the wealth of experience he has, the film is in good hands, coming in at a tight 1 hour 25 minutes. Shaffer’s co-written it with Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, and it’s packed with the comedic style that the original films became cult classics with. Some of it is predictable, some of it has been done in other films, and a lot of the plot is just a little bit silly - but that is the point of a Naked Gun movie: it doesn’t take itself seriously at all (right down to end credits that go a little crazy, like the originals), with some bonkers moments in the second act, and close to the bone humour for this generation that passes the 6 laugh test. It’s shot well by Brandon Trost, and of course, whenever there’s a classic theme to adapt, it has to be Lorne Balfe handling the score, right? - we don’t hear the original Ira Newborn theme right until the end but his score suits the film, and its tone, perfectly.

With the cast, there’s a lot of standouts, and a LOT of cameos - Liam Neeson is just perfectly cast as Drebin Jr, bringing his own spin to the style of the film, the perfect comic foil in Paul Walter Hauser, also as the son of the original George Miller character from the originals, and for this generation instead of Priscilla, we have Pamela. Yes, Miss Anderson’s career renaissance only goes from strength to strength, and you can tell that her and Liam Neeson got close as they made this movie. Rounding out the main cast is Liza Koshy, Danny Huston, CCH Pounder and Moses Jones, the man who gets to deliver the knowing look that broke the internet when trailer 1 was released. On the cameo front, there are roles for the new face of the WWE in Cody Rhodes (who I didn’t recognise initially), Busta Rhymes, UFC commentators Michael Bisping and Jon Anik, Bruce Buffer, and just like the originals, there is the customary appearance of ‘Weird’ Al Yankovic too, alongside one or two who can’t be revealed as they’re part of some punchlines. All in all, it’s a film that delivered on high expectations, and even if it’s not as edgy as the original, it’s a good gateway into the initial three. People will want to seek out the original, The Smell of Fear and The Final Insult, which can only be a win for comedy.

THE VERDICT

The Naked Gun is the comedy Hollywood needed to make, just to say 'yes, we can still do this’. It’s gloriously dumb, rips apart the police genre just as the original Police Squad series did back in 1982, and brings it up to date for a new generation. It’s also a film that wins extra nerd points for its marketing, with an absolute zinger of a poster popping up here in the UK: 'he may be late, but he always comes’. Welcome back, Detective Drebin, how we have missed you.

RATING: 4/5