Throughout greater than 4 a long time, the Bare Gun franchise has set the gold normal for screwball comedy, however which of the films is the very best? Beginning as a short-lived TV collection entitled Police Squad!, the franchise would actually get began with the discharge of The Bare Gun: From the Information of Police Squad! in 1988.
In contrast to extra typical comedies which depend on easy situational humor, the franchise as an alternative crafts intricate and ridiculous gags that usually border on the surreal. Lots of the jokes hinge on the efficiency of the collection lead (initially Leslie Nielsen however later Liam Neeson), who performs the perennial straight man to the bizarre issues taking place round him.
To show the lasting energy of the Bare Gun franchise, it did one thing that many collection could not. They got a gentle reboot in 2025 that truly honored the humor and legacy of the sooner movies. Whereas there’s a clear hierarchy inside the Bare Gun film collection, all of the beloved screwball classics are good for amusing or two.
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Bare Gun 33 1/3: The Remaining Insult (1994)
In contrast to a variety of different long-running franchises, there actually are no unhealthy films within the Bare Gun collection. However, Bare Gun 33 1/3: The Remaining Insult is the weakest of the lot. Known as out of retirement, Lt. Frank Drebin is distributed undercover to cease a terrorist from blowing up the Academy Awards ceremony.
The plot is appropriately zany, and the jokes come simply as quick and livid as earlier than. Nonetheless, among the bits do not land fairly as strongly as they did previously, and plenty of gags really feel like rehashes from the sooner films. However, the movie does parody a lot better than its predecessors, taking hilarious jabs at well-known film moments.
Bare Gun 33 1/3 opens with a parody of the Odessa Steps sequence from the avant-garde movie, Battleship Potemkin, a very intellectual joke for such a lowbrow franchise. The third Bare Gun film options a few of Leslie Nielsen’s greatest work as Frank Drebin, and it exhibits how comfy he was within the function by his last look within the franchise.
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The Bare Gun 2 1/2: The Odor Of Concern (1991)
Making a sequel to The Bare Gun is a hilarious proposition on paper, and The Bare Gun 2 1/2: The Odor of Concern wastes no time in poking enjoyable at itself. Whereas attempting to win again the affections of Jane, Lt. Drebin should cease a shady energy firm from silencing a scientist who’s pushing for eco-friendly various power sources.
Like its predecessor, The Bare Gun 2 1/2 is basically a parody of traditional police procedurals, so a variety of the humor is derived from poking holes in traditional cliches. Whereas the movie nonetheless options loads of sensible absurdist jokes and surreal gags, there may be additionally loads of slapstick humor as nicely. Sadly, it does endure from being a sequel.
As a result of The Bare Gun 2 1/2 was tasked with following the unique, it was all the time going to pale as compared. The unique is so well-written that each second crackles with humor, and whereas the sequel is hilarious, it is all the time only one small step behind. That being stated, The Odor of Concern remains to be probably the greatest ’90s comedies.
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The Bare Gun (2025)
There was an incredible quantity of stress on the legacy sequel to The Bare Gun, and amazingly, the movie turned out nice. Liam Neeson stars as Frank Drebin Jr., the son of the franchise’s unique hero, who should save his beloved precinct by fixing a troublesome case. As an alternative of an out-and-out remake, the latest movie is one thing of a continuation.
Author/director Akiva Schaffer clearly understands what makes the Bare Gun films work, so the humor within the 2025 movie comes from the identical playbook. The movie is rarely afraid to be completely bonkers to get amusing, one thing that almost all fashionable comedies by no means do. Neeson’s casting was a stroke of genius, and he performs the function utterly straight.
The Bare Gun (2025) is definitely the second-best movie within the franchise, not solely as a result of it is humorous, however due to its accomplishment. Making one other Bare Gun film with none of the unique inventive group was dangerous, however the danger finally paid off. However, the reboot might by no means surpass the unique, irrespective of how humorous it’s.
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The Bare Gun: From The Information Of Police Squad! (1988)
Practically a decade after the short-lived TV present was canned, The Bare Gun: From the Information of Police Squad! introduced the screwball gem again to life. Whereas investigating the tried homicide of his companion, Lt. Drebin uncovers a nefarious assassination plot. Naturally, the plot components are merely a backdrop for a myriad of goofy jokes.
Leslie Nielsen additionally performed Frank Drebin within the Police Squad! TV collection.
A fixture amongst traditional screwball comedies, The Bare Gun can be an efficient parody movie. The sly lampooning of traditional cop tropes helps to make the movie hilarious on two fronts, and retains issues considerably grounded even because the humor reaches surreal ranges. The efficiency of Leslie Nielsen is the ingredient that actually ties every part collectively.
His deadpan supply is itself a joke, and Nielsen is the best comedy straight man to ever stay. The perfect comedies are pleasurable on the primary, fifth, and even a hundredth viewing, and The Bare Gun is definitely a kind of movies. It is clearly the very best of its personal franchise, and arguably one in every of comedy’s all-time greats as nicely.
- Launch Date
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August 1, 2025
- Runtime
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85 minutes
- Director
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Akiva Schaffer
- Writers
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Akiva Schaffer, Doug Mand, Dan Gregor, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
- Producers
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Erica Huggins, Seth MacFarlane