Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994)

Written by Filipe Manuel Neto on December 22, 2023

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 another actor, nothing would make sense and the final product would have no value. Even so, we must also highlight the work developed by O. J. Simpson, Priscilla Presley and George Kennedy, actors who put a lot of effort into their respective roles and found, in this film, time and material to match their talent. In fact, compared to its predecessors – and in these cases comparisons are inevitable – I thought this film gave more space to the secondary actors and gained additional quality as a result.

It's not worth talking too much about the technical aspects, as this is a comical film that invests little in them and puts all its chips on humor and the main actor's performance. Even so, we can say that the film manages to maintain the quality that the trilogy has accustomed the public to. The script continues to be a problem, however, and is seen only as a vehicle for successive comic sequences and slapstick humor routines.