‘The Naked Gun’ is the funniest movie of 2025

Thanks to a script stuffed with jokes and a fully committed performance by Liam Neeson, the modernized "The Naked Gun" provides sorely needed laughs.

Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. in The Naked Gun. Paramount Pictures

July 30, 2025

3 minutes to read

“You can’t fight City Hall.” “Of course not. It’s a building.”

That one line – and 100 more like it – confirm that the creative forces behind legacyquel “The Naked Gun” understand exactly what made the 1988 Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker spoof so special. With a fully committed Liam Neeson and a script absolutely stuffed with jokes, “The Naked Gun” is the funniest movie of 2025.

Somewhat worryingly, the film begins with its weakest scene, one that David Zucker roundly criticized following the release of the first trailer for “The Naked Gun.” As an armed bank robbery unfolds, a little girl, comically oversized lollipop in hand, skips into the lobby. It’s Frank Drebin Jr. (Neeson) in disguise, and he swiftly lays waste to a cadre of baddies in a slick, stylized sequence that studios essentially mandate for films of the many-headed action-adventure-comedy genre.

Thankfully, the film quickly moves past this perfunctory paroxysm of violence and settles into a comic groove, firing off a barrage of rapid-fire gags that rarely slows across its brisk 85-minute runtime.

The plot of “The Naked Gun” is knowingly thin – there’s even a McGuffin called the P.L.O.T. Device – but story beats are inconsequential for a movie that delivers such an astounding volume of laughs.

Drebin Jr. and his partner, Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser) are in trouble with Chief Davis (CCH Pounder). Holding up a newspaper proclaiming “POLICE SQUAD IN HOT WATER” (with a photo of officers in a hot tub), Chief Davis relegates the pair to traffic duty.

Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr., Paul Walter Hauser plays Ed Hocken Jr. and CCH Pounder plays Chief Davis in "The Naked Gun." — Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr., Paul Walter Hauser plays Ed Hocken Jr. and CCH Pounder plays Chief Davis in “The Naked Gun.” *– Paramount Pictures*

That’s how Frank and Ed find themselves investigating the death of a man at the wheel of a self-driving car. The man’s boss, tech CEO Richard Cane (Danny Huston) oozes malice, but naturally offers any assistance necessary.

Drebin suspects suicide, but back at Police Squad, he’s greeted by the man’s widow, Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), who pushes Frank to look closer.

Anderson’s arrival is another watershed moment for the film. The former “Baywatch” star’s performance is perfectly calibrated, her face resolutely blank as she delivers line after line of ridiculous dialogue. As she exits the precinct, dragging a chair behind her after Frank asked her to “take a seat,” the entire police force erupts in a cacophony of Philip Marlowe-inspired internal monologues. It’s a hilarious moment, but also a reasonable response to encountering the modern-day Priscilla Presley.

Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. and Pamela Anderson plays Beth Davenport in The Naked Gun.

Surely no one expected Neeson to replace the inimitable Nielsen, name similarities notwithstanding. But playing Drebin’s son, Frank Jr., the always-stoic actor – even when he dabbles in improv comedy – fully embraces the madness of the role. (Just don’t call him Shirley.) The modernization of the film means that Neeson is more imposing in hand-to-hand combat than Nielsen and, unlike his predecessor, occasionally gives up the game with a knowing look to the camera. But it’s hard to imagine a current actor better suited for the role.

On that note, “The Naked Gun” is by no means a beat-for-beat remake. Director Akiva Schaffer – of The Lonely Island and SNL fame – retains the ZAZ spirit while adding his own modern flourishes.

There are echoes of Schaffer’s underrated Disney noir “Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers” in Drebin’s investigations, and moments of boundary-pushing unreality that were a hallmark of Schaffer’s SNL Digital Shorts and his 2016 showbiz satire “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.” A mid-film romantic montage that echoes the “I’m into Something Good” scene from the original “Naked Gun” is a perfect example, with Schaffer taking the parody in new and unpredictable directions.

Sometime in the 2010s, amidst the ascendance of Marvel and the decline of Judd Apatow’s stable of slackers, movie studios almost entirely abandoned the theatrical comedy. The nominal replacement – action movies with occasionally quippy dialogue – has left comedy fans utterly bereft. “The Naked Gun” would warrant a trip to the cineplex in any decade. But in 2025, its commitment to delivering the highest volume of jokes per minute is not only admirable, it’s without parallel.

Rating: ***1/2 (out of 4)

“The Naked Gun” is in theaters August 1.

Kevin Slane

Staff Writer

Kevin Slane is a staff writer for Boston.com covering entertainment and culture. His work focuses on movie reviews, streaming guides, celebrities, and things to do in Boston.