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David and Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Pat Proft’s The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! holds a special place in my heart. Outside of Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi’s Goodfellas, the first The Naked Gun film is one of my most watched movies. Hell, I have an on-set polaroid of Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult on my nightstand.
At the same time, I am not a fan of the modern string of legacy sequels. I find them to mostly be lazy fares and easy attempts at studios to twist the knife of nostalgia into a moviegoers side just for a few bucks at the expense of the respective franchise’s reputation. All that to say when I tell you that executive producer Akiva Schaffer (The Loneley Island, Hot Rod, Extreme Movie, Saturday Night Live, The Watch, Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson) as well as co-producers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand’s The Naked Gun is one of the funniest things I have seen in years, I mean that.
Discussion
The Naked Gun follows a familiar structure to that of the original 1988 film of the same name. Stone cold cop follows an unusual case, which leads to a widespread criminal conspiracy while becoming involved with a femme fatale that may or may not derail the entire investigation for him. The conspiracy is linked to a narcissistic kajillionaire—which in the 2025 film is jabbing at Elon Musk—, the cop is immensely dirty, and there is a love montage (but with a twist this time!). Watering it down, you would have two identical films. However, the beats and gags from the original films are never recycled or reused. In fact, the only times the original series of films are brought up are through cheeky and cute nods that are very much “you know it or you don’t”.
What makes The Naked Gun so incredible is that it never spends too much time relishing in one singular bit. Much occurs in the dense runtimes—none of the four films surpass the eighty-five-minute mark. In the original The Naked Gun movies—or any of the ZAZ (the Zuckers and Abrahams) films, in that case—, as soon as the jokes begin you are given very little time to come above water. This is a huge feature for some, and a flaw for others. The ZAZ formula works in how it subverts your expectations in every moment. The 2025 version isn’t much different. While not having a sense of humor that’s too far off from the ZAZ style, Schaffer has never worked on that same comedic muscle that ZAZ did. However, the end result is something reminiscent of the original ZAZ feel while also being something entirely his own.
The Naked Gun‘s Rhetorical Success as a Comedy
Modern comedies’ lack of inventiveness, with reliance on easy bits and tired gags, has become a curse. I cannot tell you how old it is to see a comedy where the only gag is on the idea of subversion while never exploring further than the idea itself. With The Naked Gun, you are shown bits that make you feel like you’ve never seen a comedy before. And while every gag may not exactly land, the very next gag will completely knock the wind out of you. Seriously, your next favorite gag is merely one spoken line away—or you blink and the next gag is right in front of you. That is how fast this movie moves, and it’s very much to its benefit.
Crafting a modern spoof film is a Sisyphean task, especially a modern spoof legacy sequel. A good legacy sequel must balance being its own thing while also respecting the original film’s source material (a creative oxymoron, if I’ve seen one). A good spoof film must take modern culture and society and make you laugh at it. Sometimes a creative’s/filmmaker’s idea of laughing at our modern problems and dilemmas is to just lazily lay it out in front of you and make the presentation the gag and do nothing else with it.
However, this version of The Naked Gun‘s creative team makes effective gags. They never allow the social commentary to interfere with the greater gag at play. Elon Musk, Tesla, cryptocurrency, and policing are hit on pretty heavily. Yet, it all works in tandem with the visual gags and slapstick. To show how effective it is, there’s a joke involving the Black Eyed Peas that was a hit in my crowded Brooklyn theater. When you watch, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
Final Thoughts on The Naked Gun
The Naked Gun is a riot and deserves to be seen in a completely full theater. Personally, anxiety was high that this wouldn’t deliver. Therefore, I’m excited to tell you that this movie hits on every note and then some. The Naked Gun (2025) isn’t as tight as The Naked Gun (1988) on its gag or story. Then again, it doesn’t need to be. This newer version absolutely rules and made my sides hurt—something fierce from constant laughter. The Naked Gun is the funniest movie of the year; Hell, maybe of the 2020s so far at that.
RATING: 8/10
The Naked Gun is now playing in theaters!
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Recovering Texan. Full time consultant, part time writer.
