4K Ultra HD Review: Formulaic And Predictably Derivative, “The Naked Gun” Misfires At Nearly Every Turn

Only one man has the particular set of skills – to lead Police Squad and save the world.

Nothing can stop people from going to see this movie, and many will improbably emerge from theaters with a slight twinkle in their eye. Go figure. Adhering to the crowd-pleasing tactics from the 1980s that spawned multiple sequels, this updated version of “The Naked Gun” plods along with naive confidence where so many others have trodden before.

Frank Drebin, Jr. (Liam Neeson) is the son of deceased Detective Lieutenant Frank Drebin, famously portrayed by Leslie Nielsen. Ironically, Nielsen, similar to the “Sea Hunt” actor Lloyd Bridges, toiled primarily as a dramatic actor in movie and television roles throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Both found new life years later in slapstick comedy, a trend that started with “Airplane” in 1980. Likewise, here Neeson makes a stark departure from his menacing good-guy characters and delves into far sillier terrain with obvious glee.

The son of Captain Ed Hocken (George Kennedy) is played by Paul Walker Hauser as Ed Hocken, Jr. The son of Detective Nordberg (O.J. Simpson) is briefly portrayed by Moses Jones as – not altogether surprisingly – Not Nordberg, Jr. Pamela Anderson plays Beth Davenport, Drebin’s love interest, akin to Priscilla Presley’s turn as Jane Spencer in the original “The Naked Gun.” New characters to the franchise include CCH Pounder as Chief Davis, Danny Huston as the evil megalomaniac Richard Cane, and Kevin Durand as henchman Sig Gustafson.

The plot device – literally, and such as it is – consists of the prospective release of an electronic signal by Cane that renders humans to their basest instincts. Cane and his billionaire friends plan to plunge the world into anarchy, retreat to an underground bunker with entertainment supplied by Weird Al Yankovic, and eventually emerge to start over on a far less densely populated planet with the “right” kind of people. The choice of the headline performer while awaiting the end of the world should reveal all one needs to know about how society might fare after the apocalypse.

Sight gags and bad jokes abound at such a rapid clip that one might wonder if he or she is missing something. Then again, maybe not so much. A second viewing might be necessary to confirm such speculation, but no one would want to sit through this debacle twice.

Directed and co-written by Akiva Schaffer, “The Naked Gun” represents a vapid attempt to breathe new life into a once-famous franchise whose time has come and gone. The formidable cast gamely tries to make the best of awkward material and highly suggestive situations, but in the end, the shoddy script simply overwhelms their efforts to make chicken salad out of chicken by-products. While several pockets in the screening audience yucked it up pretty good during the many strained attempts at something resembling humor, prospective viewers should not raise their hopes too high on this dog.

Now available on Digital and on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, and DVD November 11th.

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