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The Naked Gun | Review by: Benjamin Garrett

 When’s the last time a movie made you laugh so hard you almost peed your pants? The Naked Gun is unapologetically silly - a comedy that prioritizes showing its audience a hilariously good time. This legacy sequel (which might be the funniest movie of the year so far) is a pitch-perfect successor to Police Squad and the original Naked Gun trilogy. 


It would be easy to nitpick the film’s plot, because if you’re going into this expecting an engaging or innovative narrative, you’re gonna be sorely disappointed. The story essentially acts as a means of delivery for the constant onslaught of jokes and visual gags. The comedy rarely lets up, and the generic plot beats hardly matter when the entire theatre is erupting in frequent laughter. As I said, this movie prioritizes humour over everything, and I can guarantee you’re gonna laugh… like, a lot. 


In the same spirit as its predecessors, this film dares to be constantly silly, fully leaning into its distinct brand of spoof comedy. I’d say it’s dumb humour, but that would be selling the writing far too short. It takes a special kind of skillset to not only cram THIS much comedy into such a brief runtime, but to also have most of it land. No, not every joke is going to work for everyone, but when one misses the mark for you, there’s another that’ll have you howling mere seconds later. I’m sure I missed a few jokes from laughing too hard, and dozens of blink and you’ll miss it visual gags that are in nearly every frame. 


We’ve seen Neeson shine in small comedic bits before, but I had my hesitations about his ability to carry an entire (very, very silly) movie. I mean, how does one take over such an iconic role played by the incomparable Leslie Nielsen? Well, Neeson proves to be the perfect fit, with his straight-faced demeanour and gravely voice. His line delivery is perfect, especially in his dry reactions to absurd occurrences. Pamela Anderson plays hilariously and brilliantly off Neeson. It helps that the two of them share more-than-solid screen chemistry, which makes their exchanges so much funnier.


Surely, I can’t be serious when I tell you this legacy sequel is not only a worthy addition to the franchise, but also the funniest movie of the year so far. Unabashedly silly, clever, fast paced and utterly hilarious, The Naked Gun ought to be given 25 years for mans-laughter. Leslie Nielsen would be proud. 


3.5/5 


Review by: Benjamin Garrett



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