Frank Drebin started as a bumbling cop in the short-lived series Police Squad! and grew into a cult hero with a gun, an accidental comic instinct and zero self-awareness. The trilogy with Leslie Nielsen is a monument of absurd humor, full of disastrous chases and bone-dry one-liners. And in 2025 a new generation of Drebin arrived, with Liam Neeson. Seriously? Yes. But also not at all.
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
A visiting Queen, an assassination plot and Frank Drebin tripping over literally everything. This film set the tone: a non-stop stream of sight gags, puns and total absurdity. Nielsen is masterful as the man who understands nothing yet somehow gets everything (accidentally) right. Pure chaos, brilliantly timed, and still the textbook example of smart stupidity.
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
This time Drebin stumbles into a conspiracy involving clean energy. Yes, even satire of energy policy shows up, along with disastrous dinners and plenty of slapstick. The pace is still there and the timing mostly too. Less fresh than the original, but still good for plenty of belly laughs.
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Naked Gun 33â…“: The Final Insult (1994)
Drebin goes undercover in prison and ends up at the Oscars. By the end it feels a little tired, but Nielsen remains the comic captain of a sinking ship. Highlights include the Oscars finale and a great parody of Hollywood itself. Not the strongest entry, but even half-asleep Drebin delivers jokes better than most comedies today.
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The Naked Gun (2025)
Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., the son of the original? It sounds like a joke in itself, but it works. Directed by Akiva Schaffer and produced by Seth MacFarlane, the film delivers old-school sight gags, silly disguises and a deadpan Neeson, with Pamela Anderson as the femme fatale. Critics and audiences were pleasantly surprised: vintage nonsense done right.
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