Not half as clever as the previous films, Naked Gun 33 1/3 is Leslie Nielsen’s final turn as Police Squad!’s Frank Drebin.

Now retired and living with Jane (Priscilla Presley), Frank finds himself called out of retirement yo join his team one last time in an effort to stop a terrorist attack on the Academy Awards. The terrorists are led by Rocco (Fred Ward!).

Jane has gone off to be a successful lawyer, and despite the fact that the pair are together, they are having problems. She wants a baby and a family, and he’s worried and frightened and lost without his job.

And that’s about all the character development the narrative has.

The gags are more stupid than silly in this installment, and not everything works, despite a solid opening to homage to The Untouchables. Homophobic, tone deaf and sexist this one definitely has its issues. Yes, these are goofy comedies, but this one seems a little more juvenile than the prior films.

The Final Insult is a suitable title, as that’s how I felt watching this one. Insulted.

More intent on bad sex jokes and homages to other movies, this one just doesn’t entertain. David Zucker is the only writer back from the other films, and he’s not in the director’s seat.

This is not the way I would have wanted the series to end. Thankfully, there’s a new one out now which may, perhaps, wash the bad taste of this one out of the audience’s mouth. As much as I love Nielsen, this entry is truly terrible.

Ward is wasted in this role. Presley’s character is all over the place. The story is so intent on shovelling in film references that it ruins itself. The gags don’t work as well, and it all just feels like a missed opportunity.

Honestly, it feels like a mess. It doesn’t have the comedic touch that Zucker brought as director. It’s not the way I would have wanted to leave Frank Drebin behind, though the final sequence does lay out the seeds for what’s to follow in the franchise… after thirty odd years.

I really didn’t care for this one. It just didn’t have the same level of laughs and characters that the first two films, and, of course, the television series was known for.

Oh well.