The following contains spoilers for The Naked Gun, now playing in theatersThe Naked Gunis constantly hilarious, in part because it brings back a key element of the original movie’s success. Spinning out of the TV showPolice Squad!,The Naked Gunbecame a foundational comedy of the 1980s. The absurd gags fit in perfectly with sudden bursts of slapstick and some clever turns of phrase, helping elevate it beyond being a simple parody of police procedural.The Naked Gun’s legacy sequel tries to match that same approach, to largely successful results.
Liam Neeson’s modern take onThe Naked Gunhas earned very strong reviews, charming critics with a non-stop slew of jokes that would make Leslie Nielsen proud. This is actually a big part of what makes the new film work. More than just the deadpan buffoonery and creatively weird flights of fancy,The Naked Gun’s best strength is exactly the same approach to comedy that made the first film so memorable.
The Naked Gun Is Non-Stop Jokes
The Naked Gunis a non-stop onslaught of different types of jokes, replicating the constant barrage of different types of gags that made the first film so enduring.The Naked Gunaims to be a true spiritual successor to the originalNaked Gunfilms and thePolice Squad!that inspired it —castingLiam Neeson as their heir to Leslie Nielsen’s comedy throne.
The casting is fantastic inThe Naked Gun, with the supporting characters matching Neeson’s commitment to the straight-faced wackiness of theNaked Gunfranchise. Part of that is a willingness to throw themselves into all sorts of jokes at every turn.The non-stop nature of the gags ends up beingThe Naked Gun’s greatest strength.
Neeson is expertly deployed, delivering wacky word-play with the same gravitas that has earned him an Oscar nomination. He’s just as good when the movie needs him to deploy some slapstick shenanigans or parody his modern public persona as an action star.Neeson plays everything dramatically straight, even when summoning a living snowman.
All the while, the film fills the background with sight gags, absurd turns, and silly signs. The result is a film that never lets up on the jokes, utilizing different styles of humor to generate a broader appeal.Even if one joke falls flat, another five will follow soon after. This keeps up the pacing and ensures the bare-bones plot never meanders or gets distracting.
The New Naked Gun Is More Meta Than The Original
There is one type of joke thatThe Naked Gunleans into more than the original, and that’s the meta jokes that break the 4th wall. The originalNaked Gunplayed with the conventions of the film medium, but largely kept the plot and humor in-universe. By contrast,Liam Neeson’sThe Naked Gunis more overtly willing to touch the 4th wall.
The new Naked Gun openly subs in Dave Bautista to cover for Neeson when he needs to use the restroom, openly noting that he’d forgotten some of his lines. Neeson bluntly jokes that he wants to be just like his father but wholly original,a comment on the inherent nature of legacy sequels.
Even the end credits get in on the joke, with Frank and Beth horrified by the freeze-frame ending of the movie — leading Frank to touch the 4th wall, call out the audience, and then punch the screen.These meta jokes are fitting for modern times, a similar kind of films likeDeadpooland shows likeRick & Morty.
Luckily,The Naked Gundoesn’t rely entirely on these types of jokes. In fact, leaning into any single style of comedy would have been a problem forThe Naked Gun, as it might have felt too repetitive given the film’s commitment to dishing out multiple jokes in every scene. Instead,the movie embraces multiple types of jokes.
2025’s Naked Gun Understands What Makes The Original So Funny
Parody films likeAirplaneandThe Naked Gunlive or die on the quality and quality of their jokes. Since these are films where the character arcs mean little and stakes are often raised or reduced for the sake of a punchline, they need to be able to keep the audience laughing to maintain a grasp on their attention.
That’s what makesThe Naked Gun’s approach to comedy so much fun, and what gives it a true thematic connection to the original. Beyond the deadpan delivery and great comedic performance of the lead actor,both the originalThe Naked Gunand the new version understood that all sorts of different jokesare needed to keep up that momentum.
The Naked Gunuses clever word-play, 4th-wall gags, slapstick, and over-the-top silly performances to elicit laughs. There’s also absurd flights of fancy like Frank and Beth’s ski-cabin visit or sight gags like the crane machine being used by the police to fish a car out of a lake.It gives the film’s comedy a certain unpredictability that benefits the execution.
The fact thatThe Naked Gunnever relies on a single style of gag is a big part of what makes it work.
One of the best examples of this versatility in comedic styles comes during Frank’s visit to Richard Cane’s bar. Neeson’s Drebin confronts a bartender, leading to a darkly hilarious bit of dialogue that also underscores Frank’s unlawful behavior.The sly piece of satire is then followed immediately by the goofy visualof the bartender’s face being transformed with each hit.
The fact thatThe Naked Gunnever relies on a single style of gag is a big part of what makes it work, especially when the jokes fly so fast and frequently. This keeps the audiences guessing, while also ensuring that repeat viewers will inevitably catch jokes they may have missed the first time around.
That versatility was a big part of what made the firstNaked Gunsuch a comedy classic— and an over-reliance on slapstick is what made the subsequent two sequels starring Nielsen less engrossing. By contrast, Liam Neeson’sThe Naked Gununderstands that variety is the spice of life, and a key ingredient to a gut-busting comedy.
