Spoof comedies were all the rage in the 1970s and 80s with films including Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Airplane!, Young Frankenstein, This Is Spinal Tap, Blazing Saddles and Spaceballs.  They’ve lost their lustre in recent decades, largely because of dreadful outings like Epic Movie and Disaster Movie, but if there’s one franchise with a chance of reinvigorating the genre, it’s The Naked Gun.  The Leslie Nielsen-helmed trilogy, released between 1988 and 1994, was a commercial success and its best gags are still quoted today.

For this new instalment, Liam Neeson takes the reigns from the late Leslie Nielsen (a joke in itself given how similar their names are).  He plays Frank Drebin Jr, a largely incompetent lieutenant in Los Angeles’ Police Squad, who rarely follows the rule book and bumbles his way through cases.  His boss (Pounder) has finally had enough and takes him off a lucrative investigation involving a cunning entrepreneur (Huston) but it doesn’t Drebin Jr from getting involved.  He’ll be aided by a crime novelist (Anderson) who has motives of her own.

 Directed by Akiva Schaffer (Hot Rod), The Naked Gun may not have you “rolling down the aisle” with laughter but it’s good, old-fashioned entertainment.  It’s clearly trying to recreate the dry, sarcastic sense of humour which worked so effectively in the earlier movies.  I don’t think Liam Neeson (Taken) has the comedic delivery and facial expressions to match Leslie Nielsen but he’s giving it a decent crack.  Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl) is a welcome addition with her own light-hearted role.

The best jokes are the ones you don’t see coming.  I’ll admit to audibly laughing at the cinema on several occasions.  On the flip side, there’s a few gags which don’t quite land and some others that feel too familiar and predictable.  The runtime of 85 minutes is perfect with the outlandish characters not overstaying their welcome.  It’s also nice to see the iconic music theme, created by Ira Newborn in 1982 for the Police Squad TV series, getting a run during the amusing closing credits.

If you like “dad jokes” and shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy, this is right up your alley.  It may not achieve the cult-like status of its predecessors, but The Naked Gun is the perfect “popcorn movie” and delivers harmless, mindless fun.