Film reviews: Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson head up the newest Naked Gun romp

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

From the (updated) files of Police Squad comes The Naked Gun (15A), arguably the most unnecessary but definitely the funniest of this summer's long litany of remakes and reboots.
Liam Neeson stars as Detective Frank Drebin, the son of the original one-man-disaster Frank Drebin (who was played by Leslie Nielsen), and the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree: when Frank Jnr breaks up a bank robbery with rather too much enthusiasm, he finds himself busted down to traffic cop and held responsible for the likely dissolution of Police Squad.
But when Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson) beseeches Frank to investigate what she believes to be the murder of her brother Simon, Frank quickly discovers a link between Beth's tragedy, the bank robbery, and tech genius Richard Cane (Danny Huston), the CEO of Eden Tech who is plotting a diabolical scheme to reduce the human race to rage-fuelled animals with a Primordial Law of Toughness (i.e., P.L.O.T.) device.
Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson arriving for the UK premiere of The Naked Gun at Cineworld Leicester Square, central London. Picture date: Tuesday July 22, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Ian West/PA Wire
If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and writer-director Akiva Schaffer doesn't try to meddle with the formula: The Naked Gun isn't so much a movie as it is a series of brief comedy sketches featuring slapstick, visual gags, overly literal wordplay and pratfalls, with the occasional nod to the original movies to keep the trainspotters happy.
The craggy-featured Liam Neeson is perfectly cast as the deadpan Frank, Danny Huston oozes villainy through every pore, and the Pamela Anderson renaissance continues apace with her delicately winsome take on the damsel in distress.
The story delights in spoofing the conventions of hardboiled noir, and particularly when it comes to Neeson's gravelly voiceover, but if there's a complaint (there's always a complaint), it's that the script doesn't quite match the quality of the comic performances, delivering giggles and chuckles rather than laugh-out-loud moments.
That said, it's a rare blast of uncomplicated fun, with Neeson having a whale of a time parodying his tough guy persona.
Floria (Leonie Benesch) a dedicated nurse, tirelessly serves in an understaffed hospital ward in Late Shift.
Late Shift
★★★★☆
Cinematic release
Set in a Swiss hospital, Late Shift (12A) opens with nurse Floria Lind (Leonie Benesch) arriving at work to discover that her ward is short-staffed and that she, Bea (Sonja Riesen) and student nurse Amelie (Selma Jamal Aldin) are expected to manage an almost full ward.
So begins a stress-inducing paean to the virtually impossible task of modern nursing: we follow Floria on her rounds as she caters to patients in varying states of health – some simply waiting for test results, others waiting to die – in a masterclass in multi-tasking.
Effortlessly competent, always upbeat and smiling (no matter the personal cost), Floria juggles a host of roles, which include dispensing a dizzying variety of drugs, with a robotic-like efficiency that masks a bedrock of kindness.
It's an utterly absorbing emotional rollercoaster, with potential disaster lurking around every corner, awaiting a single mistake from Floria – given a beautifully understated reading by Leonie Benesch – and her overworked colleagues.
Heidi: Rescue of the Lynx
Heidi: Rescue of the Lynx
★★★☆☆
Cinematic release
Heidi: The Rescue of the Lynx (G) opens in an idyllic world of snowy peaks, flower-dotted meadows, St. Bernards and alpenhorns, where the mischievous, fun-loving Heidi (voiced by Lilly Graffam) lives with her gruff but kindly Grandfather (Tom Zahner).
The arrival of Mr Schnaittinger (Michael McCown), a captain of industry who has plans to drag their village into the modern age with a new sawmill, coincides with Heidi rescuing a lynx kitten that has become separated from its mother. Can the two events be connected? An animation aimed at the very young, this is a colourful, sprightly affair set against a gorgeous backdrop.
The message is an admirable plea for conservation – the despoliation caused by Schnaittinger's other sawmill on the far side of the mountain has driven the mother lynx to prey on the village's livestock – and younger viewers will likely thrill to Heidi's irreverent sense of fun and her heartfelt love of the natural world.