‘The Naked Gun’ Blu-ray Review
Stars: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Busta Rhymes, CCH Pounder, Cody Rhodes, Danny Huston, Kevin Durand, Liza Koshy, Moses Jones | Written by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, Akiva Schaffer | Directed by Akiva Schaffer
In an era overflowing with reboots, revivals, and reimaginings, stepping into the role of a beloved character is no small feat. Some performances cast such an enormous shadow that any successor risks disappearing into it before they’ve even begun. Few figures embody that challenge more than Leslie Nielsen. His work in The Naked Gun series has delighted audiences for generations, cementing him as a comedic icon. So when a reboot was announced for a new wave of viewers, scepticism was inevitable. Who in their right mind would dare slip into those legendary shoes?
Enter Liam Neeson.
Committed to living up to the standard set by his dad for L.A.’s elite police unit, Frank Drebin, Jr. (Liam Neeson) has his biggest challenge when the tech breakthrough known as the P.L.O.T. Device gets stolen-and he has to juggle the schemes of evil billionaire Richard Cane (Danny Huston) and the attentions of sultry crime writer Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson).
As someone who grew up watching Leslie Nielsen’s spoof comedies (Airplane!, Repossessed), I was genuinely hopeful this new film would land with impact. The Naked Gun remains an entertaining entry in the genre – sometimes hitting its punchlines perfectly, other times wobbling just a bit. To his credit, Liam Neeson – and the writers – avoid turning their Frank Drebin into a carbon copy of Nielsen’s performance. Instead, Neeson plays the character completely straight, which makes the chaos around him that much funnier when things inevitably unravel.
One choice I really appreciated was establishing him as “Frank Drebin Jr.” It allows the film to honour what came before, and it pays sincere tribute to the likes of Leslie Nielsen and George Kennedy, all of whom get respectful nods. Major props for that. Like Nielsen’s comedy breakout Airplane! did, The Naked Gun also packs in a surprising number of fun cameos, from Weird Al Yankovic and Priscilla Presley to Dave Bautista, Busta Rhymes, and even WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.
The Naked Gun has been transferred to Blu-ray in 1080p and is presented in widescreen format in 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The audio options are for a Dolby Atmos, English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and French 5.1 Dolby Digital. There is also the option for subtitles in English, Spanish and French. The picture transfer is crisp and clean; the audio is clear with no signs of digital artefacts or compression issues. Paramount made sure to put their best foot forward on this release. How did they do that? In addition to a good-looking transfer, they added some cool bonus features, including:
Bonus Features:
- A Legacy of Laughter
- Son of a (Naked) Gun
- On Set of a Set Within a Set that’s in a Set
- The Funny Femme Fatale
- The Really Unusual Suspects
- Dropping the Balls
- Outtakes Montage
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
So, is this reboot on the same level as the original? Absolutely not – those are legendary shoes no one was ever going to fill. But is it entertaining? Yes, without question. And ultimately, that’s what you want from a movie like this: to sit back, switch off, and have a good time. The film became a modest box office success, and by August 2025, there were already reports of early discussions about a sequel. Whether Frank Drebin Jr. gets another outing remains to be seen, but for now, we can enjoy this wonderfully chaotic new chapter in The Naked Gun saga on Blu-ray.
***½ 3.5/5
The Naked Gun is out now on DVD and Blu-ray from Paramount. Order your copy from Amazon now.
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