Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult

Given the huge success of the first two, I suppose the trilogy was bound to happen - but by now the joke and the characterisations had really worn very thin indeed. "Drebin" (Leslie Nielsen) is now happily (?) retired and living with his long-suffering wife "Jane" (Priscilla Presley) when he is sought out by his erstwhile colleagues "Ed" (George Kennedy) and "Nordberg" (OJ Simpson) to help out on their most dangerous case yet. Nope, the Queen is not making another state visit - it's "Rocco" (Fred Ward) and it looks like he wants to save Chris Rock any future embarrassment by blowing up the Oscars ceremony. What now ensues is a by now routine sequence of frying pan to fire scenarios, straight out of a Laurel & Hardy film. Sadly, that humour ...

A fitting end to one of the great comedy trilogies of the 90s.

This is the third and final film in the Naked Gun trilogy. Throughout the film, one can smell farewell and conclusion, and it is undeniable that, among them, this is the weakest and least interesting. Even so, the film does what it needs to do to please its audience, who already know perfectly well what they are going to see and have a certain level of expectations. Although his style of humor may displease many people, we cannot deny that the three films were a notable success in the 80s and 90s, and that they had a major impact on Leslie Nielsen's filmography.

In fact, the strength of Nielsen's work and charisma is what makes the film work. Without him, or with anoth...

'Naked Gun 33: The Final Insult' is the weakest of the trilogy, though fair amusement is still produced.

Leslie Nielsen is so good in the lead role that I don't think it's really possible for these films to drag, at least alongside the decent gags and short run time. Admittedly this third entry does meander a tad, though my interest in events never waned into negative territory. The ending is the strongest part, that facepalm scene (which I knew of before) is gold.

Overall, this is a good franchise. I'm quite looking forward to hopefully checking out Liam Neeson in the 2025 remake, as long as the writing is suitable I think he can absolutely make it work.