PHOTO COURTESY PARAMOUNT PICTURES

For too long, big-screen comedy has been afraid of being silly. “The Naked Gun” has no such reluctance; it finds silliness in every corner of the frame.

That’s a sharp contrast to many recent trends in the genre. A certain brand of big-screen comedy — I don’t want to single Kevin Hart out here, but he’s the main culprit — is structured to make its star look cool and likable first, with quantity of laughs a second priority. The best comedies of the past few years are films like “Joy Ride” and “Bottoms,” undoubtedly outlandish but grounded in a certain writerly approach.

You’d be forgiven, then, for wondering if “The Naked Gun” can work in 2025. The series, from “Airplane!” creators Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker, has always been pure, gleeful slapstick: puns, pratfalls and mayhem. With such material mostly relegated to animation now (it’s no coincidence that Seth MacFarlane is a producer), can it work again?

Well, I spent 85 minutes in a full auditorium that was rocking with gleeful laughter. So I’d say the answer is a resounding yes.

The franchise is in the right hands, with Akiva Schaffer — known for his work with “SNL” team the Lonely Island, and for directing “Popstar,” perhaps the most “Naked Gun”-esque of modern comedies — writing and directing. Just as vital is the presence of Liam Neeson, perhaps the only man alive who can match the late Leslie Nielsen’s steely, unflappable monologuing (if not Nielsen’s facial contortions).

The plot is utterly incidental and mercifully quick; the credits roll about 73 minutes into the film, meaning much more time is wisely spent on bits and gags than on the deliberately thin story (set into motion when some bad guys steal a gadget dubbed the P.L.O.T. Device). And while some performers can’t quite capture the spirit of their predecessors — Danny Huston is a fine actor who can gravel in Neeson’s register, but he doesn’t have the panache of Ricardo Montalbán or Robert Goulet — Pamela Anderson is a delight as the love interest and sidekick. (A romance montage that begins with a ski trip and ends with a snowman homunculus may be the best five minutes in the film.)

There are certainly bits that miss, but the script swings so hard and so often that it connects with remarkable frequency; you’ll roll your eyes at some jokes, but you’ll do it while still laughing at the ones that came before. At all times, it is gleefully, delightfully silly. I forgot how much fun a silly movie can be.

My Rating: 8/10

“The Naked Gun” is now playing in theaters.