A mixture of fear and good intentions accompanies the theatrical release of "The Naked Gun," a reboot of David Zucker's 1988 comedy, starring a newcomer Liam Neeson in the title role, replacing the legendary Leslie Nielsen. Directed and co-written by Akiva Schaffer, already remembered for the hilarious "Hot Rod," the film takes on the daunting task of reviving a franchise that has become increasingly iconic over the years, thanks to its grotesque situations that, over the course of three cinematic installments, have made the saga of Lieutenant Frank Drebin a true cult classic for genre fans.

In this new installment, police officer Frank Drebin Jr. carries on his father's legacy, taking on the role of law enforcer on high-risk missions where there's no room for good manners or institutional constraints. After discovering a mysterious murder, the officer sets out to track down the culprit, attempting to save the sensual Beth. No matter how harsh the odds, Frank is never caught off guard: his improbable stratagems are ready to be unleashed, and the criminals can already consider themselves done for. Liam Neeson also stars Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, and CCH Pounder.

Set for release on July 30, "The Naked Gun" has raised a fair amount of eyebrows since the early stages of production. It's worth remembering when, in 2022, Neeson revealed he'd been hired by producer Seth MacFarlane, confessing to People that the project could even jeopardize his career: "I've been approached by Seth MacFarlane and Paramount Studios to do a remake of the Naked Gun films. It's either going to end my career or take it in a different direction. I just don't know."

Two years later, shortly before filming began, the actor expressed his nervousness about the potential negative response to the film's release: "I've been in a couple of TV sketches with Stephen Colbert and Ricky Gervais, but they were two, three minutes at most. But I'm a little nervous about The Naked Gun because it's a feature film..."

Clarifying the nature of the project, he added: "It's not a remake, it's a reboot. It's a completely different thing. I think we'll start in May and shoot for about a couple of months. It's a good script, but it's in development. We have about three laugh-out-loud moments, but we need seven or eight."

Now that the title's debut is upon us, set for July 30th, Neeson finally seems to have a clearer idea of the project's overall quality. In a recent interview, he said he worked hard to avoid any temptation to imitate Leslie Nielsen: "I wouldn't say it was nerve-wracking, but every day I would go to Akiva after filming and ask how it went, because I really didn't know. I didn't want to emulate the wonderful Leslie Nielsen, but the one thing I took from him was: Be serious. Don't try to be funny. Just be a serious cop who's a little dumb."

Along the same lines, Akiva Schaffer wanted to avoid Neeson imitating the original character too closely from the start: "Liam has his own characteristics, but they're not those of Leslie Nielsen. He would have spent the entire movie trying to match another human being with a completely different skill set."

What most surprised the director, however, was Neeson's natural penchant for the most inappropriate jokes, unexpected from an actor historically associated with the action genre: "He was actually the most enthusiastic about the silliest things. It kept surprising me. I should have stepped in and said: 'Remember, we already had that fart joke three scenes ago. If you do it here, it might be too early.'"

The very fact of working with an actor who is not a comedy expert – says the director – has given the reboot that unexpected touch that could prove to be a winning one: “Not only is he one of the best leading men with gravitas, but he is also one of the few who has used that power little for comedy.”

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