Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson emanate enough chemistry to light up their scenes together. In fact, their scenes together are what makes this movie watchable
Still from The Naked Gun
Film: The Naked Gun
Cast: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Cody Rhodes, Liza Koshy, Eddie Yu, Danny Huston.
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Rating: 2.5/5
Runtime: 85 min
Liam Neeson takes on the role of the son of Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin and he is supposedly the only man with a particular set of skills... to lead the Police Squad and save the world. Giving him august company are Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser and Danny Huston.
This police procedural spoof, a legacy sequel, meant to resurrect ‘The Naked Gun’ franchise, the successful trilogy centering on Nielsen’s bumbling Detective Sergeant, much after Nielson’s passing, is a goofball comedy reboot that keeps you engaged while not exactly rolling down the aisles with laughter. Given that Neeson is well past his prime like Nielson was when he started the franchise, he makes for a neat fit but the writing and direction seem to be a tepid version of the original whacky, vintage comedy.
A Canadian actor/comedian Leslie Nielsen, with a career spanning 60 years, appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, and his ‘The Naked Gun’ film series, was actually based on his earlier short-lived television series Police Squad created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker. Neeson too has a huge body of work as a dramatic actor and action star but comedy has never been his forte until now. That’s not to say he isn’t good at it. His style is totally different but he still manages to nail the deadpan goofiness required for the role. The actor’s dead serious delivery as Frank Jr. who takes down bad guys and tackles a master criminal, works well within this film. His timing is perfect, self-mockery is evident in his interactions within the movie, plus he has the same initials as Leslie Nielson. The deep baritone is an added advantage.
The film begins with a bank robbery, a heist that is linked to the suspicious death of a brilliant tech engineer. The victim’s sister, Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), seeks Frank’s help in investigating what she calls a murder. Her brother’s boss, Edentech founder Richard Kane (Danny Huston), is involved in a nefarious plan “Project Inferno” which in effect uses mind-altering properties. The mogul has already cozied up with the cops by giving them an electric cop car. So police chief Davis (CCH Pounder) warns Frank to play nice with their chief donor.
There’s no real logic in Kane’s big scheme to destroy and remake Los Angeles, It’s in fact quite absurd to think of him expanding that idea to include the rest of the world.
There’s not much consistency in the narrative threads either. The script by Dan Gregor, Doug Maud and Akiva Schaffer fails to link individual threads to get to a composite whole. The celebrity cameos add value to the proceedings but they don’t amount to much in terms of inducing laughter. Hauser’s thankless role as Ed Hocken Jr., straight man to Frank’s goofy dimwit, isn’t in the loop most of the time.
Neeson and Anderson emanate enough chemistry to light up their scenes together. In fact, their scenes together are what makes this movie watchable.
Neeson’s rebranding as L.A cop Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. may not be the rebirth of the star but it will certainly generate some amusement for his traditional fan base.
Don’t expect volleys of slapstick, sight gags, non- sequiturs and innuendo. This film is not brave enough to throw in as many silly jokes per minute, it’s more sedate and misses the mark for most of its runtime.
The script has its share of terrible puns, amusing clichés, and some inspired gags but it doesn’t make it enough for a rollicking laugh riot.
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