April 11, 2025, 8:53 am | Read time: 6 minutes
A first teaser trailer has been released for the upcoming remake of “The Naked Gun.” It gives TECHBOOK editor Woon-Mo Sung all kinds of mixed feelings.
Many of us know the feeling of strolling through the neighborhood with loved ones, chatting and sharing moments together. It’s not uncommon to swap funny stories from earlier times, and before you know it, you fall into the nostalgia trap: “Everything used to be better,” you might say. In moments like these, you feel particularly old, regardless of your actual age. At 41 years of age, I, too, occasionally find myself reminiscing about the past — recently because the first teaser for the new edition of The Naked Gun has been released.
Overview
This is the Teaser for the “The Naked Gun” Remake
Movie and series fans are also very familiar with nostalgia — on the one hand, this is because 80s and 90s references have become really fashionable in recent years. On the other hand, nowadays, films are indeed “not made the way they used to be,” as can be heard in many places online. The fact that The Naked Gun” a soft reboot of the cult film series, will soon be released in cinemas illustrates this fact once again.
A first preview of the new project has now been released. Oscar-nominated star Liam Neeson (“Schindler’s List) takes over the lead role from Leslie Nielsen and plays his son. The teaser shows a nerve-wracking bank robbery in which a little girl suddenly enters with a lollipop. But this is just a disguise for Neeson as police officer Frank Drebin Jr, who then makes short work of the henchmen. But see for yourself:
The Teaser Is Funny, but …
There’s no question that it’s been a while since a comedy from a major Hollywood studio has relied on such absurdities. The first impressions alone, therefore, seem like a breath of fresh air in the current œuvre of the dream factory. In any case, my colleagues turned to me in irritation when I suddenly started laughing out loud with my headphones on when the little girl actually turned out to be 1.93 meter-tall Neeson. Which, in turn, is a clear parody of the well-known mask-hiding game in the Mission: Impossible films.
If the final product maintains this level or perhaps goes one better, moviegoers worldwide will have a damn good time with it. They’ve had to wait long enough: As Variety reports, a new Naked Gun had been planned since 2013. At that time, directors, scripts, and actors came and went without ever materializing anything.
Now, the time has finally come. In addition to Neeson, Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl), Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya), and Danny Huston (Wonder Woman) were also in front of the camera. The film was directed by Akiva Schaffer (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), and the producers include Seth McFarlane (Family Guy). These are well-known names and, above all, people who have a lot of experience with humor.
The New “Naked Gun” Will Be Different — but Will It Be as Good?
For me, the original The Naked Gun trilogy from 1988 to 1994 is one of the funniest things the film industry has ever produced. The density of gags in all three parts is enormous, and the ideas are unsurpassed in terms of absurdity and pure nonsense.
In terms of the quantity of jokes, the reboot follows in damn big footsteps. The two-and-a-half-minute trailer for the first part alone contains more shenanigans than entire films in recent years have managed to fit into two hours. It will be difficult to even reach this level. But I’m more worried about the cinematic production.
They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To!
What’s more, despite the humor, it’s the execution, as seen in the teaser, that catches my eye. And it really disappoints and annoys me — at least as things stand now. And here, too, a comparison with the trailer for the original is a good idea.
Because in the original trilogy, it wasn’t just the comic acting performances that made people laugh. It wasn’t just the funny ideas themselves, either. It was also how individual sets were prepared in collaboration with the camera — because, in many moments, this aspect was what made the abundance of jokes possible in the first place.
It’s not always the individual lines of dialog or scene sequences as they are written in the script. Many gags in the old Naked Gun are simply witty asides. They can only be grasped visually and simply take place everywhere in the film image — in the foreground, middle ground, or background, sliding into the frame from the left or right.
The Originals Are Masterful Gag Theater
This requires a steady hand: the camera only moves a little and surveys the action from the right distance to capture as many of the curious ideas as possible. This gives what we see an almost stage-like quality.
This is by no means the case all the time; the majority consists of more conventional but no less funny scenes. But in the best moments, The Naked Gun is like a slapstick play.
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I’m Still Not Convinced
Of course, I understand that, apart from the jokes, it is equally absurd to draw conclusions about the overall result from just a single minute that the first teaser for the new film lasts. But when I see the impressions of the bank robbery, the modern staging seems so familiar that it bores and frustrates me a little again — couldn’t there have been more and, above all, something different?
What’s more, I fear that this look doesn’t allow many opportunities for visual comedy. And to be honest, films such as the two remakes of 21 Jump Street were already very funny, but also looked like this aesthetically.
I’m sure that the new Naked Gun movie will also be very funny. I’m also happy to be proved wrong with regard to the realization. However, I still remain skeptical and fear that the truly unique aspects of the original films have been lost. But let’s wait and see. The cinema release date is July 31, 2025.