The first reactions for The Naked Gun have landed, with the film being compared favourably to its predecessors.
The comedy film, the fourth in the iconic franchise, follows Frank Drebin Jr (Liam Neeson) as he follows in his father's footsteps by leading Police Squad, with the lieutenant having to protect the city and save the world.
A reboot of the series, the film comes 31 years after the previous instalment, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, with genre fans eager to see how Neeson fares as the on-screen son of Leslie Nielsen's deadpan detective.
The early word-of-mouth seems to be positive, with a reporter for Variety writing via X: "The Naked Gun is so deliciously stupid, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Very true to the spirit of the Leslie Nielsen movies I grew up loving. #NakedGun"
"I saw The Naked Gun and I can now say they ARE making them like they used to! There are so many great jokes in this and you can tell the filmmakers had so much fun making an actual comedy movie. #NakedGun," wrote another viewer.
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This sentiment was echoed by another viewer, who wrote: "Holy hell, The Naked Gun is the funniest flick I’ve seen for a while. Liam Neeson is so freaking perfect as Frank Drebin Jr and the comedic chemistry he shares [with] Pamela Anderson is absolutely wonderful."
"The compact 85 minute runtime makes this an enjoyable watch from start to finish. It’s consistently funny," they continued, adding that they couldn't get the "goofy nature" of the film "outta [their] head".
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Neeson's performance was also praised as Oscar-worthy by another fan, who added: "I bow to no man in my adoration of the original Naked Gun, so I’m glad to report that the new one is fantastic… Smart and hilarious from beginning to end."
In addition to Neeson and Anderson, the cast for the film includes Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand and Danny Huston. Akiva Schaffer is on directing duties, with the Lonely Island member co-writing the screenplay alongside Dan Gregor and Doug Mand.
The Naked Gun is in cinemas on 1 August.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
