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Liam Neeson's The Naked Gun is set to pull off a jaw-dropping feat: scoring the biggest opening weekend for a Liam Neeson-led movie in a decade. Stepping into the trench coat of Frank Drebin Jr., who is the son of Leslie Nielsen’s iconic chaos cop, Neeson is trading in the grim action stars for deadpan gags and laughs. This reboot-slash-legacy sequel is quietly rewriting the box office playbook for the actor.
The film is set to pull in $16.5 million in its debut weekend, sliding into the number 3 spot behind The Bad Guys 2 and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. But more impressively, it marks Neeson’s strongest opening in a whole decade, with the last occasion being Taken 3 in 2015.
The actor also opened up in an interview with Variety about if he is changing gears from action to comedy, to which he replied,
"The first “Taken” was 18 years ago, I was 54. Feels like a lifetime ago. I still get offered the occasional one. But I’m 73, for f**k’s sake. I don’t want to insult audiences if they’re watching whole fight scenes and it’s not me. I just wouldn’t do it. Up until recently, I liked doing my own fight stuff. But I don’t want to be doing that stuff with a Zimmer frame or walking stick. Sure, there might be another one out there, but nothing definite on the horizon."
The film is already one of the most anticipated films of the year, and this feat catapults Neeson's comeback to comedy even more. With a strong cast, positive reviews, and a plot that reworks the franchise's theme pretty well, The Naked Gun has become one of the best films of the year.
More details about The Naked Gun
The Naked Gun crashes back onto the scene with sirens blaring, gags flying, and Liam Neeson somehow making slapstick look suave. Directed by Akiva Schaffer and co-written with Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, this absurdist action-comedy is both a reboot and a love letter to the original franchise. The film follows Frank Drebin Jr., son of Frank Drebin, trying to live up to his father’s chaotic legacy while desperately trying to keep the Police Squad from being shut down.
Neeson is backed by a wild ensemble: Pamela Anderson plays love interest Beth Davenport, Paul Walter Hauser brings life to Capt. Ed Hocken Jr. and Danny Huston star as Richard Cane. Joining them are Kevin Durand, Liza Koshy, Busta Rhymes, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from Priscilla Presley as Jane Spencer-Drebin.
Filming kicked off in Atlanta under the decoy title Law of Toughness. The movie premiered on July 28 at the SVA Theater in Manhattan before launching into theaters on August 1. On its opening day, it pulled in $6.3 million, including $1.6 million in previews, putting it on track for one of Neeson’s biggest comedy openings ever.
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As for reviews, the film is doing pretty well. Rotten Tomatoes shows a sparkling 90% approval from nearly 200 critics, many praising the film’s ability to blend old-school absurdity with modern comedic timing.
The Naked Gun is now in theaters.
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