Only one man has the particular set of skills - to lead Police Squad and save the world. (from IMDb)

I suppose a remake / soft reboot of The Naked Gun shouldn't be surprising. They've talked about bringing Detective Frank Drebin back to the big screen for years. But it's a character acclaimed actor Leslie Nielsen had made iconic since the short-lived TV series, Police Squad. But the successful 1988 movie, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, spawned two ridiculous sequels, and wiggled its silly little ways into the hearts of millions. So how can they even begin to think of remaking it?

Thankfully, for fans, 2025's The Naked Gun isn't a direct remake and, if anything, exists to cash-in on the long-dormant brand and honor the original in the process. Honestly, you can tell from the opening credits that this is a movie being handled with great care. It's reverent to the irreverence that came before it, and it's all assembled to bring fans more of what they think of when they think of Frank Drebin and Naked Gun.

First off, Liam Neeson is absolute brilliant casting. The fact he's typically a very (very) serious actor (I mean... Schindler's List, anyone? Taken?) makes him an interesting choice for this. But he's proven in various comedy sketches and such that he can deliver the best dead-pan comedy that you just would not expect. So if you like the idea of Neeson delivering absolutely ridiculous lines and doing some of the most visually silly things, this latest Naked Gun is just for you.

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I laughed this much during a movie. Even our audience was uproarious throughout the film - something I haven't heard in a theater in a really long time. It baffled me how the writers and director Akiva Schaffer were able to capture the feel and humor of the original. So many times, movies like this just seem like cheap knock-offs and counterfeit, but this one nailed the tone perfectly. And the jokes felt fresh and funny, too. Some are a little topical, but most are pretty universal. The visual gags are great, too - and not all of the movie's funniest stuff was spoiled in the trailers either.

Speaking of Neeson normally being a serious actor, it was definitely trippy to see actors like Danny Huston and Kevin Durand - two normally serious actors - acting in a movie like this. In most cases, they play their roles straight and serious, which adds to the humor. But seeing them in silly situations or reacting to absurdities is a real treat. Even composer Lorne Balfe - who has many notable scores under his belt, not limited to a couple Mission: Impossible entries and Black Widow - turns in a pretty serious score, which actually only adds to the hilarity of the film.

Going into it, I was definitely pretty worried about the content for The Naked Gun, given how overtly sexual the original ones could get at times. This new one is mostly just silly humor, but there are two sequences that get pretty crass and crude - if not borderline explicit. The first sequence is when Frank has Pamela Anderson's Beth come over his apartment. They're being watched through the window, but after Frank closes the curtains, the onlooker uses infrared goggles to continue spying. Due to the juxtaposition of Frank and Beth (and a dog), the situations look extremely sexual to those of us watching through the curtain. For example, as the two of them are handling a turkey baster over a turkey, it looks really inappropriate. Then there's some awkward positioning with the dog while Frank is aggressively petting it, and another shot shows Beth kneeling and vigorously scrubbing the inside of the oven while Frank is standing in the foreground. In other words, every situation is innocent in nature, but the visual is quite crude. Later, there's a love scene between Frank and Beth, and there are various shots of her in a silky, lacy top and them kissing, among other romantic situations. At one point, as a gag, they use a book of spells to conjur a spirit (totally played for absurd laughs) and it causes a snowman they made outside to come to life. We then see Frank and Beth kissing in bed, his hand cupping one side of her face... and then then snowman's hand caressing the other side. Then we see Frank and Beth sensually nibbling on the snowman's hands and making snow cones out of them. Finally, they push the snowman away, and it all suddenly turns into a horror film where the snowman seeks revenge and tries to kill them. It's so over-the-top and ridiculous that it's actually quite funny, but obviously, some viewers will be uncomfortable with both the sexual and even spiritual content there. Lastly, most of the rest of the humor is bathroom humor over bedroom humor, but there is a brief scene of nudity where Frank loses his pants in front of an arena audience. We see his bare butt cheeks while the frontal nudity is blurred out on a TV screen. An announcer then starts describing the majesty of Frank's genitals, comparing it to a bratwurst (or something like that). Profanity is pretty mild. We had a lot of laughing in our theater, so I may have missed a couple instances, but I only caught one "S" word during the very last scene (from Pamela), and several uses of "h*ll" and a couple uses of "G-d."

There are a couple surprisingly graphic moments, too. A character steps in a puddle of blood and finds a bloody knife at a crime scene. They then try moving a dead body and lift it up, accidentally hitting its head in the unseen fan on the ceiling. The camera pans up and we see the ceiling and walls covered in blood, and the body completely missing its head (there's no gore, just lots of blood). Later, Frank has a deep, deep gash in his arm and Beth goes to put medicine on it. There's then a running gag of a series of horrible things she applies to the open wound that should cause more pain than help (which is the joke). But the cut itself is hard to look at. Finally, a motorcyclist with a helmet on gets their head knocked clean off, but there's no blood or gore - just an empty-necked shirt underneath, and Frank tears the clothed arms off a man and smacks him with them (it's not bloody).

The Naked Gun is one of the few soft reboot/remakes that actually adds to what came before - maybe even improving on it. However, the content really can be pretty crass, so be warned before checking this one out.

The 2025 reboot of The Naked Gun comes home on disc, available in 4K UHD, Blu-Ray and DVD, and has been available on digital for a while now. The Blu-Ray disc also comes with a digital copy, and that one is actually in 4K, which you can redeem on Apple or Fandango at Home (not both).

The Blu-Ray and digital copy include the following extras:

Featurettes
A Legacy of Laughter (8:57) - This featurette focuses on the legacy of Leslie Nielsen and the other films, and how they tried to honor them with this one, but also wanted to make something new. Here they show scenes from the original movie, as well as this one. (1 "S" word, 1 "h*ll")

Son of a (Naked) Gun (6:00) - The filmmakers talk about making the film and how they knew they always wanted Liam Neeson for the role. This segment shows lots of scenes from the movie, and actor Kevin Durand gushes about working with Liam. (2 "Oh my G-d," and one brief view of a man's bare butt from the film)

The Funny Femme Fatale (4:33) - This one is all about casting Pamela Anderson and how they thought she was perfect for the role because of her popularity in the 90's, which acts as a nod to this being a franchise from the 90's. (1 "h*ll" and briefly see the gory deep cut on Frank's arm from a scene)

The Really Unusual Suspects (4:23) - This one is all about Kevin Durand's and Danny Huston's villain characters, and how challenging it is to treat the goofy material as serious -- which is where the humor comes from.

On Set of a Set within a Set That's in a Set (3:42) - This one is about that fun Mission: Impossible - Fallout spoof scene, specifically. They talk about the gag itself and trying to accomplish it in camera practically.

Dropping the Balls (3:27) is about the finale at the MMA fight, which is meant to emulate the baseball stadium sequence from the original. They talk about hiring real MMA fighters and announcers... and hanging a stunt man upside down. (1 "h*ll," 1 "Oh my G-d," and plenty of "balls" jokes)

Outtakes - Play All (12:29)
Outtake Montage (8:29) — This hilarious montage features lots of alternate takes and ad-libs from the cast. Some of the outtakes are them breaking and laughing during scenes, too. (1 "g*ddmnit," 1 "G-d," 1 "h*ll," 1 "*ss," 1 "d*mn," and some of the jokes are crude)

WWFC Outtakes (4:00) - This is a montage from the WWFC match at the end, with lots of ad-libs from the announcers and emcee.

Deleted, Alternate, and Extended Scenes - Play All (16:34)

1. Bank Fight #1 (Extended) (0:27) - Frank kicks a guy across the floor and he slides to the back of the room. Then he kicks one guy who doesn't slide far at all. He intimidates him and the robber slides further back.
2. Bank fight #2 (Extended) (0:28) - Frank is punching a guy for a long time and then the camera angle changes and we see they're actually several feet apart, but he's still "hitting" him somehow.
3. Noir Opening (Alternate) (0:36) - Frank talks about not having the problem of having a loving family at home, which allows him to go into work earlier than others.
4. Last Years Incident Joke (Alternate) (0:47) - When he's talking to the police chief, there's a different joke.
5. Cane's Boardroom (Deleted) (0:43) - Cane shows a photo of him with a nude woman on his back (We see just her side and back visible, nothing too explicit). He complains about people being mean about the photo on social media. (The scene uses the word "*rse" a few times)
6. Beth Scat (Extended) (2:51) - This is more of her singing, and some of Frank fighting and likening the fight to jazz. It's funny, but too long.
7. Frank Sees Wolf (Deleted) (1:03) - Frank talks to a photo of his dad and asks for a sign - like an owl. He then sees a wolf - which is the sign - and asks "Like that, but an owl."
8. TiVo (Alternate) (1:25) - A different version of Frank complaining about Beth connecting his TiVo to the Internet.
9. Facade Moment (Extended) (0:58) - This adds one last layer of the sting, including ice cream vendors in on the joke.
10. Frank and Ed See Balls (Deleted) (0:30) - After they enter the arena, Frank points them out and says "I gotta get my hands on those balls before they drop," to which a mother nearby gasps and covers her daughter's ears.
11. Skybox (Deleted) (1:01) - Beth sees that she's surrounded, and reaches for a gun before Cane walks up to her.
12. Beth Weapons (Extended) (1:14) - An extended version of Cane finding more weapons hidden on her.
13. Frank Rant in Octagon (Deleted) (1:20) - More of Frank ranting about things, like why people don't wear real hats anymore and whatever happened to rap/rock. (1 "a" word, 1 "h*ll)
14. Frank and Cane Under Arena (Extended) (1:29) - More of Frank ranting to Cane, but here he makes a reference joke about "erotica." (1 "d*mn")
15. Frank and Ed Under Arena (Deleted) (0:29) - Frank asks Ed to cover him, so he throws a blanket over his head.
16. Revenge Kill Speech (Extended) (1:12) - This is more of Frank trying to talk Beth down from killing Cane, but talking about how good revenge feels.

Mock Ads - Play All (0:46)
Gorilla Nut (0:25) - A man talks about the energy drink, "Gorilla Nut," which is "just for men."

Muscle Slime (0:21) - Guys in a gym lifting weights are shown smearing "Muscle Slime" on their arms and legs.