Although a 1982 TV series called Police Squad! only lasted six episodes before cancellation, it returned as a hit theatrical film in 1988 called The Naked Gun. After sequels in 1991 and 1994, the franchise went dark.

Until now, that is. 2025’s The Naked Gun offers a mix of reboot and sequel that uses Liam Neeson as the son of Leslie Nielsen’s now-deceased bumbling detective Frank Drebin.

After LAPD Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr. (Neeson) stops a bank robbery, he soon discovers weird anomalies. None of the crooks knew each other and the mastermind let them keep the money.

It turns out the heist actually occurred to liberate a diabolical gadget called the “Primordial Law Of Toughness" – or ‘PLOT’ - Device" so its owners can wreak havoc on society. Drebin stumbles through the investigation, one that also allows him to cross paths with Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), the sister of a software engineer connected to PLOT who died until suspicious circumstances.

Police Squad! and the Naked Gun movies came from the filmmaking team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker, commonly referred to as “ZAZ”. The 1988 flick turned into their first successful spoof in the same vein as 1980’s Airplane!, their commercial breakthrough.

Actually, 1986’s Ruthless People did pretty well but it offered a different kind of comedy than the “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” vibe of Airplane! and the Squad series. 1984’s spy parody Top Secret! didn’t flop but it failed to make an impression among audiences.

It seems unclear why the franchise ended after 1994’s third flick, as that one became a hit. However, given that it came with the subtitle The Final Insult, it seemed clear that the producers wanted to finish the series with that installment no matter what.

Beyond a quick cameo, the 2025 Naked Gun involved no one from the original franchise so I figured it co-writer/director Akiva Schaffer would try to put his own stamp on things. Instead, he makes the “requel” a piece that fits into the universe of those earlier efforts.

For better or for worse. In my case, I went “for worse”, though I didn’t find the 2025 Gun to offer an unpleasant viewing experience.

As I’ve mentioned, outside of the brilliant Ruthless People, the ZAZ movies never much worked for me. Because they came with such a relentless parade of gags, I encountered the occasional chuckle, but the hit to miss ratio seemed low.

Best known for his collaboration with Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone on the “Lonely Island” shorts that aired on Saturday Night Live, Schaffer seemed like someone who could update the ZAZ style for the 2020s. And he does to some degree, as his Naked Gun occasionally deviates from the ZAZ formula, such as during a surreal sequence in which a snowman comes to life and threatens Frank and Beth.

That segment and a couple others aside, most of Schaffer’s Naked Gun opts for the same deadpan broad parody of the Nielsen/ZAZ movies. This clearly works for many but as implied when I clicked the “for worse” button, I remain less than enamored with the format.

ZAZ couldn’t make this kind of humor work for me on a consistent basis and Schaffer can’t either. Like everything ZAZ did outside of Ruthless People, Schaffer’s Gun manages sporadic humor but it fails to connect on a consistent basis.

My main problem stems from my view that so many of the gags seem utterly predictable. Occasionally Schaffer finds a clever spin on matters, but we can see most of the jokes a mile in advance.

Schaffer’s choice to stick so closely to the ZAZ formula remains a disappointment. He could’ve nodded toward the original flicks but not generate a semi-clone of them.

Again, the 2025 Gun does branch out sporadically. Nonetheless, it remains a close cousin of the ZAZ flicks most of the time.

And that works for many people, though I suspect those involved expected it to fare better at the box office than it did. With glowing reviews, many thought it’d turn into a big hit.

However, Gun 2025 earned $102 million worldwide on a budget of $42 million. That means it probably broke even but fared no better.

That sum might become enough to generate a sequel, but it sure doesn’t make another chapter a sure thing. If a second “requel” Gun does appear, I hope it takes more chances than this flick and tries to create its own identity rather than just echo the films of the past.

Footnote: extra footage appears during and after the end credits. The credit roll itself comes with quirky jokes as well.

The Naked Gun appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This turned into a pretty positive presentation.

Sharpness worked well. A few shots leaned a bit soft but most of the movie seemed accurate.

The movie lacked jaggies or moiré effects, and I also saw no edge haloes. Print flaws failed to manifest.

As a spoof of cop flicks, the film opted for a mix of blue and amber. The disc replicated the colors in a positive manner.

Blacks appeared tight and dense, while low-light shots brought appealing clarity. Overall, the visuals satisfied.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the film’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack didn’t come with a lot of sonic ambition. Still, it provided an appropriate auditory setting for the tale at hand.

This meant a lot of general atmosphere, especially during outdoors or road scenes. The movie’s smattering of more action-oriented scenes delivered a bit more punch, but this remained a largely low-key mix.

Audio quality seemed positive, with speech that remained natural and distinctive. Music offered nice range and breadth.

As noted, effects didn’t stand out as a big deal but the mix replicated them as accurate. Again, nothing here dazzled but the soundtrack suited the story.

Six featurettes appear and A Legacy of Laughter spans eight minutes, 57 seconds. It brings notes from director/co-writer Akiva Schaffer, producers Erica Huggins and Seth MacFarlane, and actors Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Danny Huston, Paul Walter Hauser, Cody Rhodes and Kevin Durand.

We get a look back at the original Naked Gun movies as well as aspects of the new one. A few useful nuggets emerge but mostly we find a lot of happy talk.

Son of a (Naked) Gun goes for five minutes, 59 seconds. We get remarks from Schaffer, Neeson, MacFarlane, Huston, Anderson, Hauser, Durand, Rhodes, Huggins, and fight coordinator/2nd unit director Mark Vanselow.

The program looks at Neeson’s character and performance. Like the prior reel, this one seems fluffy and with little substance.

With The Funny Femme Fatale, we locate a four-minute, 32-second program. This one involves Schaffer, Anderson, MacFarlane, Neeson, Huggins, and Huston.

As expected, “Fatale” examines Anderson’s character and performance. As expected, it becomes another puff piece.

Next comes The Really Unusual Suspects. During this four-minute, 22-second reel, we hear from Huston, Schaffer, Hauser, and Durand.

During this program, we look at the supporting characters/cast/performances. Not much informational value results.

On Set of a Set Within a Set That’s In a Set occupies three minutes, 42 seconds. It features Durand, Schaffer, Hauser, and production designer Bill Brzeski.

Here we cover a particular scene that spoofs a segment from a Mission: Impossible flick. We find another fairly superficial featurette.

Finally, Dropping the Balls lasts three minutes, 26 seconds. Here we discover info from Schaffer, Vanselow, Huston, Brzecki, and actors Michael Bisping, Jon Anik, and Wilbur T. Fitzgerald.

“Balls” digs into aspects of the movie’s climactic scene. Yet another marginally informative piece results.

Two Outtakes reels ensue: “Montage” (8:28) and “WWFC” (4:00). Though we get some of the usual goofs/giggles, we find plenty of alternate lines as well and those add value.

16 Deleted, Alternate and Extended Scenes take up a total of 16 minutes, 32 seconds. This collection breaks into six deleted, seven extended and three alternate.

None of these add anything new or significant in terms of plot or character development. They throw out more jokes, some of which seem decent.

More than 30 years after the franchise’s last entry, the 2025 reboot/sequel of The Naked Gun offers more of the same kind of humor seen all those years ago. That works for many but I think the end product only produces a smattering of minor laughs. The Blu-ray offers very good picture as well as positive audio and an inconsistent mix of supplements. Fans of the series’ comedy style will probably like the 2025 Gun but it seems unlikely to earn new adherents.