I watched the remake fairly recently, and I rewatched the original a bit before that. So it\u2019s time to give the lowdown on which gun\u2019s better. You\u2019re welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The Lead<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ok, let\u2019s start off with the OG, Leslie Neilsen. Before he ventured into the comedic sphere, Neilsen was a classically trained actor who treaded the boards with Shakespeare and such like. I find that hard to believe considering I\u2019ve only watched his comedic output, but it also makes sense considering how good he is at staying stone cold serious when delivering the most preposterous comedic jokes. The dude\u2019s really good with his expressions too, probs because of his Shakespeare experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, onto the newbie. The noob, if you will. Liam Neeson is a pretty inspired choice. Not just because he\u2019s got the same initials as Leslie Neilsen, but because it\u2019s a rather daring choice to move from \u2018Taken Phase\u2019 Neeson to \u2018Comedic Phase\u2019 Neeson. He\u2019s pretty good at the deadpan stuff too. Ultimately, however, he just doesn\u2019t have quite enough rizz as Neilsen to pull everything off. Partly that\u2019s because most of the film\u2019s best jokes were wasted in the trailer, but he hasn\u2019t got that same breadth of talent that Neilsen brings to the table, and the intonation is almost, but not quite there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Original 1 Remake 0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Femme Fatale<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I saw Priscilla Presley\u2019s name in the opening credits the first time I watched the original, I thought it was a joke. Y\u2019know, like the end credits of the film are filled with jokes. But no, this is Priscilla Presley herself. Nice. I just wasn\u2019t really aware that she went into the acting biz. But I\u2019m glad she did, because she\u2019s great. Her delivery is absolutely pitch perfect in terms of the deadpan dialogue \u2013 and vocal pitch, for that manner. And the killer comedic screenplay doesn\u2019t hurt, either. No, that beaver joke probably wouldn\u2019t make it into today\u2019s cinema, but hey, it made it into this era, and that\u2019s what matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s great to see Pamela Anderson\u2019s comeback on the silver screen, and she fits into the femme fatale role very neatly. While she doesn\u2019t get as many killer lines as Presley (that\u2019s a screenplay problem, not a Pamela problem), she still puts in a fine performance, and the chair gag is pretty quintessential so-dumb-it\u2019s-funny Naked Gun humour. I don\u2019t really believe that she\u2019s been going out with Neeson since the film\u2019s production, but it\u2019s a nice bit of publicity promotion. Anyway, Anderson\u2019s her own independent woman, and she don\u2019t need no man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Original 1 Remake 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Gags<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the OG Naked Gun may not have had as many high-quality bits as Airplane (Neilsen\u2019s magnum opus, IMO), it nonetheless packs in some absolute zingers. And it\u2019s also the sheer speed at which jokes are delivered that adds to the overall appeal. Equally, that might not be everyone\u2019s type of humour. Maybe that scene in Airplane where everyone stands up in orderly line to try and \u2018calm down\u2019 the hysterical woman wasn\u2019t everyone\u2019s type of humour either. But no matter. For the record, that film and the Wicker Man remake proved that, given the right (well, wrong) context, beating up women on screen can in fact be amusing. But only in those two specific cinematic contexts. Nowhere else. Ahem. But yeah, the gags in Naked Gun are pretty decent. Especially that silly gunfight scene that cuts to reveal that they\u2019re shooting at each other from a few feet away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like I mentioned earlier, the remake kind of fell at the first hurdle by showing most of the best jokes. That OJ Simpson jab was great, for example. But it probably would\u2019ve been even greater if it hadn\u2019t been spoiled in the trailer. There are other classic Naked Gun silly bits too, like the random hand appearing from nowhere while Neeson\u2019s driving and giving him a coffee. But again, that\u2019s ruined in the trailer. Overall, however, the comic timing just isn\u2019t quite as on point as the OG, and lots of the jokes just don\u2019t land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Original 2 Remake 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Plot<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I mean, plot suggests depth or, y\u2019know, that something important is going on. I mean, generally speaking. It\u2019s hard to say which of these plots is better, per say. The OG essentially has Neisen trying and failing to protect the queen, while Neeson is trying to keep Police Squad from going down under by taking down a tech bro. Neither plot is particularly compelling, and they\u2019re not really meant to me. So…a draw on this one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final Score<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Original 3 Remake 2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yep, the original definitely wins it for me. The remake had a bit of potential, but it doesn\u2019t live up to the OG.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I watched the remake fairly recently, and I rewatched the original a bit before that. So it\u2019s time to give the lowdown on which gun\u2019s better. You\u2019re welcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1772,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771\/revisions\/1772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nancyepton.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}