The Naked Gun 2025 Christian Review: Can Liam Neeson Carry the Legacy of Leslie Nielsen?

Frank Drebin Jr., following in the footsteps of his father, takes on a high-profile case that may determine the future of Police Squad itself. What begins as a routine investigation quickly spirals into larger stakes, drawing him into the path of a glamorous new love interest and a theatrical villain. Along the way, the film leans on wordplay, visual gags, and nods to the original trilogy as Drebin’s chaos spreads.

The Naked Gun films have always thrived on absurdity, with slapstick humor and playful exaggeration at their core. This reboot continues that tradition but often relies more heavily on crude and shallow jokes than clever wit. From a Christian perspective, comedy works best when it humbles pride and exposes folly without dragging itself into coarseness. Here, moments of silliness sometimes amuse, but they are frequently undercut by humor that feels cheap or mean-spirited. Still, the film’s portrait of loyalty—Drebin’s determination to pursue truth despite his blunders—carries a faint echo of perseverance and sincerity. The result is uneven: flashes of fun, but little that uplifts or endures.

Director Akiva Schaffer stages the film with the sheen of a modern action thriller, complete with dramatic score and quick-cut sequences, before breaking that seriousness with slapstick. The opening stretch carries energy, delivering a steady wave of gags, but the pace slows as the story progresses. The narrative is deliberately thin, serving mostly as a framework for jokes. That approach can work in this genre, but unlike the tightly paced chaos of the original Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker films, the comedy here never quite snowballs. Jokes appear in bursts rather than building toward a crescendo, and while homages to the original trilogy are plentiful, only some feel fresh. The ending ties up the plot, but without the inspired madness that made the originals memorable.

Liam Neeson approaches Frank Drebin Jr. with the right kind of straight-faced delivery, but he rarely captures the effortless comic rhythm that Leslie Nielsen once embodied. His timing can feel deliberate, as if the joke is announced rather than discovered. Pamela Anderson fares better, playing her role with the kind of sincerity that often heightens absurdity. Danny Huston chews scenery with enthusiasm, though the villain remains underdeveloped, while supporting players like Paul Walter Hauser and CCH Pounder are given too little to do. Characters serve as archetypes rather than fully realized presences, leaving the film reliant on the lead dynamic to carry its humor.

The film carries a PG-13 rating with sexual humor, slapstick violence, and crude jokes. Families with younger teens may want to exercise caution, as much of the humor feels geared toward older audiences. Longtime fans of the franchise may find flashes of the old charm, but purists will likely feel the gap in timing and wit. For casual viewers, it provides passable entertainment, though it rarely rises above mediocrity.