This reboot reminded me at times of ‘Chinatown’ – not just in tone but in casting. Danny Huston, son of John Huston (who famously played Noah Cross in ‘Chinatown’), appears here as a completely different kind of villain: a tech oligarch with a plan to corrupt and take over the city. It’s a fun, if exaggerated, parallel that adds a layer of cinematic history to the absurdity. Casting Liam Neeson in the lead was an inspired choice. We’re so used to seeing him in action roles that his turn in a comedy feels fresh – even though, like Leslie Nielsen before him, he plays everything completely straight.

Nielsen wasn’t known for comedy before ‘Airplane!’, and he didn’t change his acting style – he just delivered serious lines in ridiculous situations. Neeson adopts the same approach here, with equally funny results. The film leans into the tropes of the hard-boiled cop genre: the rule-breaking detective, the corrupt system, and a city on the brink. The jokes come fast – some land better than others. There are references to Catherine Zeta-Jones being ‘electric in “Chicago”’, a riff on the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident, and a strange scene in which Neeson’s character waxes poetic about ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and his collection of every episode on VHS. That one doesn’t quite convince.

Still, the noir connection runs deeper than expected. There’s a mysterious woman in the detective’s office, a secret involving a sibling, and a sense that no one is quite telling the full truth. While it doesn’t go full ‘Chinatown’ – there’s no ‘She’s my sister! She’s my daughter!’ moment – it toys with similar themes of deception and buried trauma, albeit filtered through parody. What really works is Neeson’s refusal to treat the material as beneath him. He seems to relish the self-parody. And while there are the usual sight gags, puns, and absurdities, the humour feels more integrated than in the original ‘Naked Gun’ trilogy, which often felt like a barrage of jokes thrown at the wall to see what sticks.

This one is tighter, more cohesive. Pamela Anderson is effective in the Priscilla Presley role, and even Presley herself pops up for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo. Anderson’s jazz improvisation scene is a highlight, almost as good as the film’s clever wordplay – like when Neeson accuses someone of ‘man’s laughter’, only to be corrected: he meant manslaughter. Yes, Huston’s villainous plot – using phones to turn people into rage-fuelled zombies – is straight out of the ‘Austin Powers’ universe.

But somehow, it works. There’s enough action, nostalgia, and genre pastiche to keep things moving. Even the noir-style voiceover adds a nice retro touch. In the end, ‘The Naked Gun’ reboot doesn’t just spoof the detective genre – it embraces it. Thanks to Neeson’s deadpan charm and a smart blend of old and new, it’s well worth the watch.