The Naked Gun is now available to buy or rent through digital retailers from Paramount Home Entertainment—the 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD releases will follow on November 11, 2025.

What follows is my original review from the theatrical release:

The Naked Gun brings Police Squad into the 21st century with a laugh-out-loud reboot from the director and writers of Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers.

There is an end credit scene and jokes during the end credits that you don’t want to miss.

Lt. Frank Drebin (Liam Neeson) of the (fictional) Los Angeles Police Squad has a very particular set of skills—most of them unhelpful, all of them hilarious. He’s a well-meaning cop who somehow bumbles his way into stopping the bad guys, one accidental success at a time.

Liam Neeson is known for a particular set of skills. Skills he has acquired over a very long career. Skills better suited for starring in an action film than headlining a comedy—as the son of Leslie Nielsen’s iconic character in The Naked Gun, no less. And yet, this isn’t his first time dabbling in comedy. He previously played the villainous outlaw Clinch Leatherwood in A Million Ways to Die in the West for Seth MacFarlane. That performance planted the seed for MacFarlane eventually casting him here. He even had some Family Guy writers take a stab at the script early on—but cracking the code wasn’t easy.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure a reboot of The Naked Gun could work—even after rewatching the MacFarlane Western for its 10th anniversary last year. But once I heard who was directing and co-writing, I was willing to give it a shot. Akiva Schaffer, best known his work with The Lonely Island and directing Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers, takes the helm. His Chip ’n Dale collaborators Dan Gregor and Doug Mand also return as co-writers. Still, it wasn’t until I saw the teaser that I was fully sold. Throw Neeson into the mix, and it’s a winning formula for reviving the franchise.

You couldn’t blame Schaffer for hesitating to touch something as iconic as The Naked Gun. Leslie Nielsen is irreplaceable, and without a fresh approach, there’d be no point. And yet—I laughed. A lot. Credit goes to the smart, gag-filled script, but also to Neeson, who pays tribute to Nielsen with every deadpan line delivery. These are films that make me laugh even when I’m watching alone in my apartment; add a theater crowd, and the laughter becomes downright contagious.

What made the original Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker films like Airplane! and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! so effective was their commitment to parody, visual gags, and fourth-wall-breaking absurdity. That same formula is alive and well here. The film opens with the theft of a P.L.O.T. device—yes, that stands for “Primordial Law of Toughness”—and that’s just the start. Some jokes are in the trailer, but plenty are held back for the full experience. One bit involving Nordberg is especially funny, even if Nordberg Jr. (Moses Jones) isn’t given nearly enough to do.

Drebin Jr. is paired with Capt. Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser), and the chemistry works—both for the comedy and the genre parody. This version of The Naked Gun takes aim at the action thrillers of the ’90s and 2000s, mining them for spoof-worthy tropes. Filling in the mysterious love interest role once played by Priscilla Presley is Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), a true-crime author who writes original fiction rather than exploiting cases she’s witnessed firsthand. It’s a clever twist, and a nice moment of reinvention for Anderson, who’s returned to acting in recent years following a documentary.

Both Neeson and Anderson even get to show off their musical chops. The Naked Gun may have a shot at a Best Original Song nomination—awards voters, consider yourselves warned: Liam Neeson has a very particular set of skills, and he will find you. Anderson performs a jazz scat while Drebin searches for clues at the Bengal Club, run by narcissistic tech billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston). Neeson’s moment comes during the end credits, which also bring back Ira Newborn’s iconic theme.

The Naked Gun reboot isn’t trying to be the same movie. It’s new in many ways, but at its core, it shares the same DNA. The love for the original franchise shines through, especially in clever callbacks like cops crying in front of their parents’ portraits or the Snowman’s Cottage homage to the first film. Liam Neeson isn’t Leslie Nielsen, and he doesn’t need to be—he honors the spirit without imitating it. Who knows how many jokes didn’t even make the final cut?

The Naked Gun cinematographer Brandon Trost and production designer Bill Brzeski give the film a stylized L.A. noir look, with the feel of something shot on 35mm in the ’80s or ’90s—but with a modern polish. The police station is nostalgically detailed, and the opening bank robbery sequence is directly inspired by The Dark Knight. As for the visual effects, the film uses practical gags wherever possible—including Frosty. Move over, Olaf.

Lorne Balfe’s score for The Naked Gun hits the perfect balance: a contemporary action sound infused with retro flair. He plays it straight, just like Newborn did before him—making the comedy even more absurd by contrast. This especially comes through in the opening title sequence. His action scoring credentials make him a natural fit for this approach.

Will the film connect with audiences unfamiliar with Police Squad! or the original trilogy? I don’t know. What I do know is that it works—thanks largely to the casting. Neeson plays it straight, just like Nielsen did, and the comedy lands in The Naked Gun because of it. Delivered differently, the lines might not even be funny—but that’s the brilliance of it. And maybe, just maybe, studios should stop sending comedies straight to streaming and do what Paramount is doing here: put them back on the big screen where they belong.

Bonus Features

• Featurettes:
  • A Legacy of Laughter—Join the cast and crew as they dive into what keeps the crime hard and the guns naked in this all-new installment of the Naked Gun franchise.
  • Son of a (Naked) Gun—Only one man has the particular set of skills to lead Police Squad! Find out what makes Liam Neeson the perfect Frank Drebin Jr.
  • On Set of a Set Within a Set that’s in a Set—Take a look within a look for a look into the reality-bending hospital scene that takes practical effects to a whole new dimension.
  • The Funny Femme Fatale—Pamela Anderson embodies the perfect femme fatale in her role as Beth Davenport.
  • The Really Unusual Suspects—Get to know the cast who steal the show by playing it straight.
  • Dropping the Balls—Explore the production and stunt team behind the ball dropping finale sequence.
• Outtakes:
  • Outtakes Montage—Breaking the law is easy. Playing it straight? Not so much.
  • WWFC Outtakes—See the quips and digs beyond the punches at the WWFC match in these outtakes.
• Deleted, Alternate, and Extended Scenes:
  • Bank Fight #1 – Extended
  • Bank Fight #2 – Extended
  • Noir Opening – Alternate
  • Last Year’s Incident Joke – Alternate
  • Cane’s Boardroom – Deleted
  • Beth Scat – Extended
  • Frank Sees Wolf – Deleted
  • Tivo – Alternate
  • Facade Moment – Extended
  • Frank and Ed See Balls – Deleted
  • Skybox – Deleted
  • Beth Weapons – Extended
  • Frank Rant in Octagon – Deleted
  • Frank and Cane Under Arena – Extended
  • Frank and Ed Under Arena – Deleted
  • Revenge Kill Speech – Extended
• Mock Ads:
  • Gorilla Nut—Try this enhanced drink supplement for men.
  • Muscle Slime—Want to get ripped? All you need is Muscle Slime.

DIRECTOR: Akiva Schaffer
SCREENWRITERS: Dan Gregor & Doug Mand & Akiva Schaffer
CAST: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Cody Rhodes, Liza Koshy, Eddie Yu, with Danny Huston

Paramount Pictures released The Naked Gun in theaters on August 1, 2025.

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