Prime your sirens and prepare for laughs, “Naked Gun” fans — after a decades-long hiatus, the franchise has come roaring back to the big screen with a fresh sequel, simply called “The Naked Gun.” If you don’t know a Drebin from a Hocken, we have a video linked above that’ll tell you everything you might ever want to know about “The Naked Gun” series, its formation and how it will move into the 2020s. 

A massively influential spin-off of the short-lived “Police Squad!” TV series, 1988’s original “The Naked Gun” brought film parodies back from the deep freeze after “Airplane!” failed to yield a worthy big-screen successor. “The Naked Gun” did so well at the box office that it spawned two sequels, inspired loads of imitators, and created a second-act career for Leslie Nielsen, whose comedic talents would be in demand until his death. 

The critics have long been divided on the “Naked Gun” franchise: while the first entry is regarded as one of the best spoof movies of all time and snagged a 89% critical approval score at Rotten Tomatoes, “The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear” got a far smaller number of plaudits and sits at 58%. “The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult,” the last film in the series until now, raked in the least amount of cash at the box office, but was better-reviewed than its predecessor, sitting at a 63% approval score. All in all, every “Naked Gun” movie did fairly well on the big screen, and the new entry is looking to add to that level of acclaim.

The new “The Naked Gun” follows Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson), son of the legendary character played by Leslie Nielsen. He works with Capt. Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser), son of the stalwart character played by George Kennedy in the original trilogy. Frank bumbles his way through fighting crime on a daily basis and leaves a trail of disasters in his wake, much like his old man used to. But it looks like Frank’s days of running roughshod over California are over — he has to solve a murder, or the police department will close down. Can the lovely Beth (former TV icon Pamela Anderson), sister of the victim, lend a hand?

Early reactions suggest that this one will fit right in with the rest of the franchise. “‘The Naked Gun’ is so deliciously stupid, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Very true to the spirit of the Leslie Nielsen movies I grew up loving,” Variety writer Katcy Stephan said on X. IndieWire’s Jim Hemphill agreed, writing, “If there was any justice in the world, Liam Neeson would get an Oscar. Smart and hilarious from beginning to end.” In the meantime, if you want to know more about the franchise before “The Naked Gun” arrives on August 1, our video above will tell you all you need to know.