The Naked Gunhas only been out for a few weeks, but Liam Neeson’s eccentric comedy sequel has already become one of this year’s most beloved movies.The Naked Gun’s storytakes place several decades after the events of the first movie, following Frank Drebin’s son as he attempts to prevent a wealthy tech mogul from driving the human race to self-destruction.
Both the originalNaked Gunand its recent sequel adhere to a very distinct, unique brand of comedy that’sdriven by visual gags, dry humor, and comedic misdirection. Whether that’s characters misinterpreting simple turns of phrase or details of the film’s universe beingnot quiteright, there’s something very simple and endearing aboutThe Naked Gun’s revival of spoof comedy.
Broken Rage Is The Perfect Follow-Up To The Naked Gun
AlthoughBroken Ragehas somewhat flown under the radar following its release on Prime Video earlier this year, this Japanese comedy offers a very similar kind of eccentric humor that fans ofThe Naked Gunwill surely enjoy. It’s an exercise in setup and misdirection, using very dry humor thatmirrors Neeson’s witty deliveries inThe Naked Gun.
Broken Ragecenters around a retired hitman who is offered a tempting ultimatum in exchange for his freedom from the dangerous employers he works for. While it may not sound like a comedy on the surface (and the first halfalsogives this impression), the film gradually evolves into a very silly, comedy-driven storythat relies heavily on one-liners and meta jokes.
Whilereviews ofBroken Ragehave typically been mixed due to the film’s divisive style of comedy,its ambition is certainly something to admire. Much likeThe Naked Gun, there are so many jokes packed into such a short and fast-paced story that it’s often difficult to notice them all, which can be off-putting at first, but ultimately rewards multiple watches.
The comedy spoof genre hasn’t been a particularly successful one over the past few years, especially in comparison to the huge popularity of movies likeAirplaneand the originalNaked Gunin the ‘80s. However, bothBroken Rageand the recentNaked Gunsequel have proven that there’s still a market for this unique brand of irreverent humor.
Broken Ragelanded on Prime Video in February 2025 following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2024, and unfortunately, the film hasn’t really taken off since its streaming debut. Hopefully, the success ofThe Naked Gunwill inspire comedy fans to seek out this hidden gem, whichrepresents a very offbeat subgenre of comedy that simply doesn’t get made all that often.
