Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994)

The first one was great, the second one a bit of a repeat but it worked too, but this one... feels like they tried too hard here. Or too many different things.

They tried going serious. They tried going with sex appeal. They tried going relatable and family-focused, and it all falters. Frank Drebin comes across as an old man (how do you say 'gubbsjuk' in English?), the villains as clowns and the whole plot just one big farce somehow. I mean I guess you could call the first two farces too but: farce in a bad way here. Not on a comical note. Just a mess.

Don't get me started on the special effects either.

I'll admit the prison scene did crack me up, it did, as did some segments of the final showdown, but in the end it doesn't have the same pure, unadulterated or altered slapstick comedy genius of the first two. It's almost like this gave a glimpse of what was to come, with exaggerated; crazy and blunt comedies like The Hangover and all the like. Though some of those bring forth a lot more laughs than this one did...

Is Leslie Nielsen just outliving his role at this point? I'm not sure what it is but something feels off with this one. Didn't have that same formula for greatness as the previous. The main guys all seemed so much older too. George Kennedy too. Anna Nicole Smith was a welcome addition though...

An unexpected gem as the credits end:

No animals were harmed in the filming of this movie.

However some species did become extinct during peripheral photography.

 rated 3/5: not bad