9 / 10
The Naked Gun is the spoof comedy franchise that defined what the genre could be at its highest level. David Zucker directed the first three films. Akiva Schaffer directed the 2025 reboot. Leslie Nielsen plays Lieutenant Frank Drebin of Police Squad in the original trilogy. Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. in the 2025 film. The franchise originated from the short-lived 1982 ABC television series Police Squad!, which had been canceled after six episodes despite critical praise. The films adapted the Police Squad! aesthetic into feature length and produced one of the most successful comedy franchises of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The combined worldwide gross of the original trilogy is approximately three hundred and seventy million dollars. The 2025 reboot made approximately ninety-four million worldwide on a forty-two million budget, sufficient for the studio to consider further entries. The franchise’s reputation rests primarily on the original films, which represent the David Zucker-Jim Abrahams-Jerry Zucker (ZAZ) spoof comedy tradition at its most disciplined.
The ZAZ Tradition
David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker had made Airplane! (1980) and Top Secret! (1984) before the Police Squad! series. Their approach to comedy was specific. The films layered visual gags, wordplay, and absurdist sight gags so densely that a single viewing could not catch them all. Background details often contained jokes the foreground action ignored. Repeat viewings rewarded careful attention.
The Naked Gun films are the most refined version of this technique. The jokes-per-minute ratio is unusually high. The straight-faced delivery from Leslie Nielsen is essential. Nielsen had been a serious dramatic actor for thirty years before Airplane! transformed his late career into comedy. His Frank Drebin is the foundation of why the spoof tradition worked at its peak. Nielsen plays Drebin as a man who has no idea he is in a comedy. The absurdity around him reads as comedy precisely because he does not register it.
For Writers
Spoof comedy succeeds when the performers play the absurd material entirely straight. Leslie Nielsen never indicates that he knows the jokes are jokes. The audience laughs at Drebin’s complete unawareness of his situation. The lesson is that comedy reaches its peak when the comedian refuses to acknowledge that anything is funny. Indicating to the audience that you are aware of the comedy invites them to evaluate the joke. Refusing to indicate forces them to commit to it themselves.
The Original Trilogy
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) is the strongest of the trilogy. The opening cold open in which Drebin singlehandedly attacks a meeting of America’s enemies (Khomeini, Arafat, Gorbachev, Castro, Qaddafi, Idi Amin) sets the tone. The Queen Elizabeth assassination plot provides the structural framework. The Reggie Jackson conditioning subplot supplies the climax. Every scene is dense with jokes. The pace never relents.
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) is nearly as strong. The energy policy plot is sharper political satire than the franchise usually attempted. The hospital sequence is the strongest sustained gag in the trilogy. The Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994) is the weakest. The franchise had begun running on diminished material. Some sequences still work. The Oscar ceremony parody is dated. The Pia Zadora gag holds up.
For Writers
Dense comedic writing requires more labor per minute than other genres. The Naked Gun films pack jokes at a rate most comedies do not attempt. The writers had to come up with three or four jokes for every joke that made it to screen. The lesson is that the apparent effortlessness of strong comedy is the result of disproportionate effort. The audience does not see what was cut. They only see what worked. Plan to write significantly more than you can use.
The 2025 Reboot
The Naked Gun (2025) cast Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Leslie Nielsen’s character. Akiva Schaffer directed. The film was developed for years before Schaffer signed on. The casting of Neeson was the central creative decision. Neeson brought his late-career action persona to the role, which produced a different kind of comedy than Nielsen had produced. Neeson plays Drebin Jr. as a man with the Taken-era ferocity transposed onto the Police Squad universe.
The film mostly works. The script honors the original trilogy’s commitment to density. Some sequences are as strong as anything in the original films. Other sequences feel like they are reaching for the joke rather than landing on it. The reboot is the strongest spoof comedy of its decade, but the bar in spoof comedy has been low since the original trilogy ended.
For Writers
A reboot of a comedy series can succeed if the new lead brings something the original did not. Liam Neeson is not trying to replace Leslie Nielsen. He is bringing a different specific energy to the same template. The lesson is that legacy revivals should not attempt impersonation. The audience knows the original. The revival has to offer something different enough to justify its existence. Different specific qualities in the new lead is the easiest way to do this.
Craft Note
The Frank Drebin baseball-game sequence is the franchise’s joke-per-minute peak. The Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team stages sustained joke density (referee gags, anthem mishaps, batter ID, umpire mid-game review) through specific cutting patterns that let each joke land before the next arrives. The sequence demonstrates how comedy can sustain density when the editing rhythm gives each gag specific space.
The Verdict
9/10 for the original. 8/10 for the second. 6/10 for the third. 7/10 for the 2025 reboot. Average is roughly 8 but the original is the one to watch first. The original Naked Gun is one of the great mainstream comedies of the 1980s and remains the high water mark for the spoof comedy tradition.
FAQ
Is Police Squad! worth watching?
Yes. The 1982 ABC television series ran for six episodes and is the foundation of the franchise. The DVD is worth seeking out.
How is the 2025 reboot?
Better than expected. Liam Neeson commits to the role. Some sequences are excellent. The film does not equal the original.
Did Leslie Nielsen do other comedy?
Yes. Airplane! (1980), Wrongfully Accused (1998), Mr. Magoo (1997), and many others. The Airplane! cameo launched the late-career comedy phase.
Is O. J. Simpson really in it?
Yes, in all three original films. His scenes are uncomfortable to watch after his 1994 trial. The third film, released in 1994, was made before the murders but released after the arrest.
Who are the ZAZ trio?
David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. American filmmakers who defined the modern spoof comedy genre through Airplane!, Top Secret!, and Police Squad!.
Are spoof comedies still being made?
Mostly poorly. The genre’s reputation declined through the 2000s due to the Scary Movie/Date Movie/Epic Movie/Disaster Movie cycle, which used the spoof template without the discipline. The 2025 Naked Gun was an attempt to restore the genre.
Should I watch this?
The original, absolutely. The others, yes if you enjoyed the first.