After 31 years, The Naked Gun franchise has finally made a legacy sequel. There were talks in 2009 and 2013 to create a fourth film, but both projects were shut down. In 2021, Seth MacFarlane was hired to work on this movie and Akiva Schaffer would be the one directing. Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson would be the main stars. The film came out last month and was loved by critics.
The original trilogy follows Lieutenant Frank Drebin, played by Leslie Nielsen. He works for a police force called the Police Squad in California. These movies fall in the comedy section of slapstick or parody, so they are not meant to be taken seriously. Drebin delivers hilarious one-liners and makes himself look like a complete fool most of the time. However, he is always able to stop the bad guys and save the day.
The new movie follows Drebin’s son, Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr., played by Neeson. He is also a part of the Police Squad and follows in his dad’s footsteps. The first scene shows a bank being robbed by a group of people in masks. Then, a little girl with a big lollipop walks into the bank and confuses the robbers. The little girl is actually Drebin Jr., and he was wearing a disguise. He takes it off and starts to take down the robbers in hilarious fashion. He shoots a robber with his finger guns and throws another one like a bowling ball into a group of them, falling like bowling pins. However, one of the robbers was able to steal a device called the P.L.O.T. (Primordial Law Of Toughness) without Drebin Jr. noticing.
After the bank job, Police Squad starts to get sued and has the possibility of getting shut down all because of Drebin Jr. The police chief takes him off the case and makes him do less important work. Drebin prays to his late father and asks him to send him a sign through an owl if what he is doing is right. His new case is investigating a horrible car crash of Simon Davenport, who was an engineer. After looking at the crash, he calls it a suicide. Simon’s sister Beth (played by Anderson) comes to speak with Drebin Jr. in his office, but he highly suggests letting the police look more into it and not getting involved. He then talks with Richard Cane from Edentech, the company Simon worked at. The two had a great conversation, and Cane even donated an electric car with the ability to drive itself to the Police Squad.
In a private meeting with billionaires, Cane reveals he stole the P.L.O.T. device and will use it to make humans return to a primitive nature. All of the billionaires will be safe from them in an underground bunker while this is happening. Later, Drebin Jr. goes to Cane’s nightclub to try to find more answers. He sees Beth there and the two team up to retrieve security camera footage. Beth distracts Cane by singing horribly on stage and Drebin Jr. tries to get the footage. He fights off Cane’s guards and eventually gets the footage. He learns that Simon met up with a journalist to reveal what really happens in the company. Cane goes to the police chief to tell what Dreblin Jr. has done, and he is eventually suspended. To clear his mind, he goes on a weekend trip to a mountain with Beth. The two grow closer to each other and fall in love.
Drebin Jr. decides to still work on the case even though he is suspended. He finds the journalist’s apartment and investigates. He sees a knife on the table and a paper that says “pick me up.” So, he picks up the knife and sees a recorder. Next to it is another piece of paper that says “press record, say your name, and say “I did it.”” He does as the note says and looks around more. He finds the journalist murdered in the bedroom and realizes he is being framed. He runs out to his car and the car drives away. Cane appears on the car’s tablet and he reveals his true identity. Cane overtakes the car and commands it to drive into the ocean. Drebin Jr. can escape the car and avoid death.
Drebin Jr. is now a wanted man, so he has to be careful. He captures one of Cane’s workers and tricks him into telling him the plan. He learns that Cane is going to use P.L.O.T. on New Year’s Eve at an MMA event. He heads to the event wearing an earpiece that will prevent him from being affected by P.L.O.T. Meanwhile, Beth attempts to kill Cane, but she is captured in the process. Drebin Jr. can retrieve the device, but Cane activates it early. Cane escapes on a motorcycle with Beth, and Drebin Jr. cannot catch up with him. Out of nowhere, his father’s spirit comes to him in the form of an owl and flies him to Cane. Drebin easily takes down Cane with a single punch and arrests him on the spot. Then, they turn off the device and the city is saved.
When this movie was first announced, I was very skeptical. I am a big fan of the original trilogy and was unsure if a new movie could hold up to them. Also, the lead role going to Neeson was a decision I was confused about. How could an actor who played so many serious characters transform into a funny goofball? However, I was horribly wrong. This film is probably the best comedy I have seen in years. There were so many times that the whole theater was busting out laughing. Neeson absolutely killed this role. He was able to capture the comedy from the original movie into his character.
It was very hard to write about the comedy element in this movie because most of it you just have to see. There is something funny happening in every scene. If it isn’t the characters, it is something in the background. There are hilarious gags happening with background extras or funny banners or headlines in the scene. “The Naked Gun” is a fantastic, hysterical film and everyone needs to watch it.
“The Naked Gun” is a 9.5/10
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