When The Naked Gun remake was announced I think many folks (myself included) were a little bit taken aback when Liam Neeson was cast in the role of being the iconic Frank Drebin’s (Leslie Nielsen) son in this 2025 release.
Liam Neeson is known for his ass-kicking action roles but not so much for his comedic delivery other than a great cameo in Ted where his dry humour oozes through the screen but that kind of delivery is very different from the slapstick comedy that The Naked Gun brings to the table and does it work?
I’m not entirely sure it does.
I have a sneaky feeling that Liam Neeson was cast as the closest sounding name to Leslie Nielsen as the film whilst laugh-out-loud funny in parts just doesn’t sell me on Liam Neeson in the main role.
Don’t get me wrong, the gags hit (if albeit most predictable) but they only hit because we’ve seen them in other films before.
One particular scene involving the incredible Kevin Durant (who shines in this movie as the typecast bad guy henchman) has Liam and Pamela Anderson in this hilarious comedic situation which is almost identical to the tent scene shown in Austin Powers.
It’s 80’s and 90’s spoof comedy but sadly no gag here is original and that’s a shame as it feels like a loving remake where the source material is respected but it rarely steps outside of those boundaries and with how comedy has changed so much over the years they really missed the opportunity to lean into it.
Comedies are being made less and less nowadays as studios don’t want to take a risk on material being played to a now more sensitive audience and here you have a franchise which absolutely didn’t care one iota what people thought and this remake plays it FAR too safe to ever be memorable.
The Naked Gun is a fun good time at the cinema, having people laugh alongside you in a cinema is one of my favourite movie-going experiences and whilst this wasn’t a laugh a minute I was still glad to have a comedy movie on the big screen.
Whilst some gags did play out far too repetitively (coffee cups being handed to cops at every given opportunity) Neeson’s performance somewhat just drags us along but it’s when Liam is on screen with Pamela that there really are sparks.
These two are electric on-screen and you instantly get this heightened performance from the pair of them which stands out head and shoulders above everything else going on.
Neeson approaches Drebin with an unflinching straight face, delivering puns and ridiculous lines as though they were hard-boiled detective monologues. On paper, this is exactly what made Nielsen’s take so memorable. In practice, Neeson’s extreme control over his delivery feels more like wry commentary than unintentional buffoonery.
What results when Liam is on his own in various scenes is a comedic tone that feels restrained and just when it dares to dive into that give no f**ks type of comedy it halts itself in the process and doesn’t really allow itself that room to breathe.
The original DNA of The Naked Gun is here but it’s a very faint DNA strand and cannot ever be compared to the original in any way shape or form.
Leslie Nielsen had the face, the delivery, the essence and the comedic acting chops to make it easy to fall in love with him, his characters and his expertly delivered lines. Sadly, Neeson is not quite Nielsen in that department and it shows.
Fans will spot the gags a mile off and for newcomers it’s a slickly made comedy if albeit a forgetful one.
Our Rating
Summary
A respectful, often funny homage to a classic, but one that never fully breaks free from the seriousness its leading man naturally projects. Neeson’s dry wit keeps things interesting, yet his take on Drebin may leave some audiences wishing for a touch more chaotic silliness.
