Frank Drebin, Police Squad. The new version. Following in the footsteps of his famous father is Detective Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson), who shares the same obliviousness as his late senior father. Drebin successfully intervenes during a bank robbery, but unbeknownst to him at the moment, the attempted robbery is part of a larger case.

Not too long after, Drebin and his partner Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser) are asked to investigate an ambiguous death of an employee who was recently employed by big tech company EdenTech, headed by CEO Richard Cane (Danny Huston). The employee in question was the brother of the gorgeous Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), who is all but certain his death is not the accidental suicide it’s being positioned as. All that is certain is that Drebin is compelled to look deeper into it, using his special set of skills to potentially save the day and perhaps something larger.

They don’t make studio comedies like they used to anymore, and they’re definitely no longer released with the consistency once found as recently as a decade ago. Even before its release, it was hard to not want to see the legacy sequel The Naked Gun succeed, and well-done trailers/television spots did a great job at showcasing the tone and comedic pitch. Thankfully, the want for this movie to be good isn’t wishcasting, as The Naked Gun delivers as a quick and pretty humorous comedic feature.

Updating the reboot for a new generation is director and co-writer Akiva Schaffer, directing his first live full-length feature since the still criminally underrated Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. With double the budget and a smidge more emphasis on the action, Schaffer leans more into physical comedy—probably the most since Hot Rod. Editing from Brian Scott Olds and music composed by Lorne Balfe play a notable role in propping up some of the obvious and subtle gags.

To highlight in any meaningful way the plot of The Naked Gun would be a waste of space. For what Schaffer and his co-writing team are going for, it’s not meant to be substantive, which is abundantly clear mere minutes into the movie when an object carrying the name “Plot Device” is shown prominently. The trio’s writing shines the most in the joke pace, as there’s nary a stretch of time that goes by without some wisecrack, physical comedy, or expanded Family Guy-like cutaways. One bizarre moment featuring a snowman stakes a claim to be the movie’s peak. Not every joke succeeds and a few fall flat, but there’s just as many that are rip-roaring, and others that may stand out better on future viewings.

Beyond the similar sounding name to Leslie Nielsen, Neeson channels the same stone-faced, non-comedic approach his predecessor did to great effect. When he’s not driving the humor as a singular entity, he’s playing off of a wonderfully tuned Anderson, or a goofy and heelish Huston. The only bummer with the lightning quick runtime (less than 90 minutes) is the general lack of opportunity cast members and adept funny people like Hauser and Kevin Durand get to make on the comedy.

If Neeson were at least a decade younger, it would be a likelier bet that this Naked Gun could be his next franchise post-Taken if he wanted it to be. If this is a one-off for all involved, hopefully it’s proof of concept that while studio comedies may not be as fruitful as they once used to be financially, there are still many moviegoers who prefer their comedy to be viewed communally.

B-

Photo credits go to impawards.com, hollywoodreporter.com, collider.com, and cinemablend.com.