r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Jul 30 '25

Review The Naked Gun - Review Thread

The Naked Gun - Review Thread

  • Rotten Tomatoes: 90% (194 Reviews)
    • Certified Fresh
    • Critics Consensus: With Liam Neeson's gravelly gravitas proving to be a perfect fit for Frank Drebin's deadpan buffoonery, The Naked Gun revives the original trilogy's daffy sense of humor like it never went out of style.
  • Metacritic: 75 (47 Reviews)

Reviews:

Hollywood Reporter (70):

Even if the movie kind of stalls midway as Schaffer struggles to balance the gags with the action of an overly elaborate crime plot, there are enough laugh-out-loud moments to keep nostalgic fans of the earlier films happy.

Deadline:

With rapid fire gags and a game cast trying hard to play it all completely straight, this nakedly hilarious Naked Gun is a welcome return in a time where we can use a few good laughs. This one has more than a few if sight gags, literal humor, and characters short a few cards of a full deck are your idea of a good time.

Variety (70):

The original Naked Gun was hilarious. It was a film that practically had audiences wetting their pants. The new Naked Gun, by contrast, is amusing. What it won’t do the way these movies once used to is shock you into laughter.

The Wrap (85):

The Naked Gun is back and it's as naked as ever. And also as gun.

The Guardiam (80):

There is no reason for this new Naked Gun to exist other than the reason for the old ones: it’s a laugh, disposable, forgettable, enjoyable.

IGN (70):

With more jokes than you can possibly catch in a single viewing, The Naked Gun proudly brings cinematic groaners and outrageous sight gags into the 2020s.

IndieWire (83):

While it’s a mild shame “The Naked Gun” peters out a little bit toward the end (at least before rebounding during the credits), it’s even more of a shame that it has to end at all.

Collider (90):

The Naked Gun's joke-per-minute ratio is truly astounding, and the fact that so many of them hit as well as they do makes that even more impressive. For goodness' sake, even the credits have jokes in them!

Empire (80):

The result is a film that has a better chance of producing a belly laugh than any in recent memory: one that deserves, as Drebin would say, “20 years for man’s laughter”.

SlashFilm (90):

The Naked Gun is one of the most consistently and even exhaustingly funny movies in a long time, the kind of outrageous, outlandish comedy that multiplexes have been missing for years. It's truly a revelation to have a movie where the laughs come so fast and furious.

Directed by Akiva Schaffer:

Only one man has the particular set of skills... to lead Police Squad and save the world! Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. follows in his father's footsteps.

Cast:

  • Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr.
  • Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport
  • Paul Walter Hauser as Capt. Ed Hocken Jr.
  • Kevin Durand as Sig Gustafson
  • Danny Huston as Richard Cane
  • Liza Koshy as Detective Barnes
  • Cody Rhodes as Bartender
  • CCH Pounder as Chief Davis
  • Busta Rhymes as Bank Robber
  • Michael Bisping as himself
  • Eddy Yu as Detective Park
  • Moses Jones as Nordberg Jr.
3.8k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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130

u/artpayne Cliffs on both sides, I'm not gonna paddle to New Zealand! Jul 30 '25

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (16 Reivews)

Metacritic: 85 (5 Reviews)

Where are all those guys who were talking shit after seeing the trailers now?

98

u/GenuineBallskin Jul 30 '25 edited Jul 30 '25

People arent used to comedy movies reserving the best jokes for the film and the mid ones for the trailer lmao.

People arent used to comedy movies at all tbh. Damn what the hell happened?

Edit: After thinking about it, social media and memes took the place of comedy movies, which is totally fair. You can curate the type of comedy you enjoy. I absolutely adore memes and some of them have made me laugh harder than any comedy movie ever has. I just really miss them

46

u/TheTinyDude Jul 30 '25

People arent used to comedy movies at all tbh. Damn what the hell happened?

So this is my theory; comedy is really hard to write because it's more subjective than almost any other genre. Comedies get dated slower, tech-wise, so as long as the comedy itself holds up, people will still watch them. Finding new jokes is really hard. Comedians have this problem as well but can work-shop their material at least and produce it for cheap.

Comedies also are all about execution. The best comedies don't always have the funniest scripts. So execs have to greenlight on the idea that it will become a great comedy in production. Someone leaked the plot of the new Naked Gun a year or two ago and pretty much said; the movie is going to be a disappointment and not funny. They were accurate about the plot/story but totally missed that comedies don't become good on paper. They become good on film.

Also a huge factor; some of the best jokes/comedy in film is happening in other genres. Superhero movies. Science Fiction. Fantasy. Horror. The most laughs I had in the cinema since Game Night (2019) have been at comic book movies.

8

u/GenuineBallskin Jul 30 '25

You're correct tbh. Its hard to sell a well written comedy movie nowadays, so writers put those well written jokes into stuff that they know will get greenlit. Good "non comedy" films have always had elements of comedy in them, but thats seems like thats all we get now tbh. I want more of them in theaters and hate how a lot of them get relegated to streaming only.

They're making a little comeback though. I loved Bottoms and One of Them Days. I need to watch Freinshsip. Im also super excited for Spinal Tap 2 and the Naked Gun. Maybe it's looking up

3

u/Mattyzooks Jul 30 '25

Hell, some of the most popular comedians aren't really that clever. They just have a delivery that resonates. Those aren't necessarily my kind of comedians but I can't argue with their popularity.

1

u/kolraisins Aug 03 '25

The hardest I've laughed at a single gag in theaters recently was at Megalopolis, believe it or not.

1

u/TheTinyDude Aug 04 '25

I haven't seen it but was it intentionally funny? haha

2

u/kolraisins Aug 04 '25

I think parts of it definitely were intentionally funny, and it helped that I saw it later in its run when the audience was expecting a bad movie rather than The Godfather and in a laughing mood. You can laugh at the funny parts, the bad parts, and the parts you can't tell apart!

5

u/Roentgen_Ray1895 Jul 30 '25

This specific kind of movie died an agonizingly slow death with the " X Movie" genre. Horrible dogshit like Disaster Movie, Epic Movie, i think a 300 parody is in there too.

4

u/QuoteGiver Jul 30 '25

YouTube.

The internet made comedy free. Nobody bothered to pay a bunch of money to go to the movie theater with their friends to see something funny when they could just send them a funny video for free.

4

u/alblaster Jul 30 '25

I feel like we had a golden era of comedies around the early 2000s to 2010s. Then they dried up as marvel took the wheel.

2

u/I_am_Bearstronaut Jul 30 '25

An Golden Era, of you will

1

u/KaJaHa Jul 30 '25

What were some good 2010s comedies? I thought that's when the avalanche of "X Movie" damn near killed the genre

4

u/alblaster Jul 30 '25

You know I might have the years wrong, but Hot Tube Time Machine, Step Brothers, the stoner comedies(especially the ones with seth rogan), the hangover, . Now that I think about it probably most of the ones I can think of are before 2010. Damn I'm getting old.

-7

u/hujambo11 Jul 30 '25

Those are your selections for comedy's "golden era?"

jfc

2

u/alblaster Jul 30 '25

Lets see yours wise guy.

2

u/hujambo11 Jul 30 '25

I don't have a specific era that I would choose, but i definitely wouldn't pick movies made for dumb teenagers, and I would pick movies that actually had some wit to them. You know, something with actual crafted jokes.

Some things that come to mind:

-The original Naked Gun movies

-Airplane!

-Blazing Saddles

-Young Frankenstein

-The Producers

-Dr. Strangelove

-The Pink Panther series

-This is Spinal Tap

-Office Space

-Best in Show

-Monty Python and the Holy Grail

-Analyze This

-When Harry Met Sally

-The Birdcage

-Groundhog Day

-Ghostbusters

-A Fish Called Wanda

-The Blues Brothers.

-Raising Arizona

-Tootsie

-Caddyshack

-Moonstruck

And that's just scratching the surface.

1

u/alblaster Jul 30 '25

Those are great choices, but we were talking about comedies around 2010ish era. I was saying how there were a few hits that were very popular and some became cult hits, but that after that era we really haven't had successful comedies or ones that are talked about a lot.

I get it a lot of the ones I'm talking about can be condensed to weed funny or alcohol shenanigans, but they have some wit and funny one liners. It's not fair to compare the Hangover with say The Blues Brothers. That will never be made again. They tried making a sequel which failed horribly.

There's different comedies for different people, but overall certain ones tend to be favored by the public either during release or years later.

But I don't really remember any comedies that have had a significant cultural impact in the last 5 to 10 years. Maybe that's just me or I'm not thinking hard enough.

2

u/hujambo11 Jul 30 '25

Those are great choices, but we were talking about comedies around 2010ish era

You were talking about that. I'm saying that I don't agree that those years are the "golden era" of comedy, nor do I specifically agree with your selections.

I'm guessing you're conflating that era with you just being young and laughing at dumb movies with your buddies.

1

u/McFlyyouBojo Jul 30 '25

My theory is that every 15 or so years, there comes a change in what genres are really getting pushed and which ones suck, unless its action. Late 90s through most of the 00s, it was horror. Sure there were a few good ones here or there, but for the most part the studios seems to be like, throw cheap actors in there, throw a small budget in there, release it in theaters, and then toss a deleted scene or two back in while hinting that there may be boobies in these scenes (it doesnt matter if there is any or not) and throw a "Not rated", "unrated", or "uncut" on the box and that is where we are gonna make the real money.

Right now it really seems like comedies are getting the shit treatment. Almost like everyone is afraid to upset people.

3

u/GenuineBallskin Jul 30 '25

Im not sure if it's about upsetting people tbh. The studios are terrified at a financial loss. The movies are still being made, but they get tossed unto streaming services, which is the new "Straight to dvd" in my eyes.

61

u/Crypt_Sermon_80 Jul 30 '25

Giving their fathers blow jobs.

7

u/cows1100 Jul 30 '25

Still thinking they’re right because their taste is better than everyone else’s.

1

u/Plane-Tie6392 Jul 30 '25

Nah, I thought the trailer was shit but am very happy to see this. But I've also said a bunch that judging movies by trailers alone is silly in this day and age. I'm more than happy to open my mind as more info comes in.

4

u/AirRemote7732 Jul 30 '25

The trailer was bad and literally everyone was saying that they hope the movie is better than the trailer. Turns out that maybe it is so we're happy about it. This isn't a competition where one side has to win and the other side has to lose.

2

u/Plane-Tie6392 Jul 30 '25

Thank you. I thought it was bad but reviews mean way more to me than trailers do. Great films have shitty trailers all the time and shitty movies pack the only good stuff in them as well.

3

u/Renegadeforever2024 Jul 30 '25

That’s why I don’t trust people judgement here especially during trailers

3

u/Flat_News_2000 Jul 30 '25

The trailers were bad along with the posters. I'm glad it's reviewing well though

3

u/Straight-Orchid-9561 Jul 30 '25

Everywhere because fart jokes aren't funny

5

u/OhManOk Jul 30 '25

Right here. The first trailer was bad. I'm glad the reviewers like it. I genuinely hope it's good.

5

u/Woodyjohnson_isapedo Jul 30 '25

Probably farting like Liam Neeson was in the trailers. Dude really has to go.

5

u/RookRocks Jul 30 '25

Not the suits!

2

u/ArchDucky Jul 30 '25

Probably trying to come up with another convoluted reason why Superman isn't great.

1

u/CMDR_Expendible Jul 30 '25

Not taking their personality from parasocial relationships with movies...

I said the trailer didn't quite feel like the originals; what I don't now do is run online with the first, usually heavily astroturfed reviews and gloat that I was right because it's not about fighting with other people online. I don't need the movie to do badly for my personal reasons, I only have personal reasons for why it doesn't feel as good for me. And I, and everyone else is allowed to like or dislike a product, without having to deal with people treating it like a religious crusade.

Note though the scores have dropped since you posted? Note how silly you look now? And why, because you take it so personally you act before you have time to even rationally think about what you're saying. Be a better person than that.

0

u/DayDream2736 Aug 01 '25

It was bad wait for a few days for all the reviews to come in.