Review of Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell Of Fear

Introduction

With even a further dumb plot to its predecessor The Smell of Fear (The Naked Gun 2½) stars the actor Leslie Nielsen who is on excellent form as the silly and memorable Lt. Frank Drebin. The film series was originally based from a failed TV classic "Police Squad", which only ran for six episodes. However fans of the show grew in numbers when it was finally released on home video, becoming a true cult classic.

The Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker team, who was also responsible for humorous comedies like Airplane, Kentucky Fried Movie and Top Secret, decided to move the TV series into a full-length feature film "The Naked Gun". This gave them further freedom in their creative thinking process, more then what television could allow due to regulations and the complaining public. With its massive box-office success the team once again dips into their creative minds to produce this sequel. Thankfully the sequel successfully continues the tradition of The Naked Gun series to act as a parody, which is hilarious in many of the gags it presents to us.

The Smell of Fear was another box-office hit for the team who then spawned on another sequel; The Naked Gun 3 1/3. Joining Leslie Nielsen in this film is the regular cast of Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy and O. J. Simpson. They also feature along side look-a-likes George Bush, Barbara Bush & Winnie Mandela, who serves up some of the most funniest gags in the movie. Also look out for the BBC1 TV drama "Pie In The Sky" actor Richard Griffiths and a funny homage to the Steven Spielberg`s film ET…

Video

Paramount has released the film on DVD in a widescreen 1.78:1 aspect ratio format. It is further enhanced with an anamorphic transfer, which help with picture information detail. The disc is an improvement on the first instalment of The Naked Gun DVD, which had some elements of film grain and dirt affecting picture quality. Thankfully this disc presents no such problems and remains quite free from wear and tear blemishes. Also colour saturation and fleshtones are natural. But the overall image has a soft look, and some minor compression artefacts can be seen in a couple of scenes.

Audio

The DVD features two audio soundtracks. The first track is a remixed English 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, which emerges out from the front speaker channels during the music score by Ira Newborn. The activity levels for the back speaker surround channels are quiet for the majority of times, although the odd sound effect could be heard. Dialogues are centre channel based and are always clear.

The second audio soundtrack is in German Dolby Digital Surround 2.0, which has a good stereo activity.

Features

Menu navigation is easy while menu designs are simple and motionless. Supplement materials include another hilarious group commentary track with the Host Peter Tilden, Producer Robert Weiss & Director/Co-Writer David Zucker. Again this track has its comic moments but also has some technical information, which makes for an interesting listen.

Also included are two humorous original theatrical trailers that are presented in anamorphic widescreen.

Conclusion

This disc is an improvement over "The Naked Gun" DVD. With above average picture quality and an impressive set of extras it is certainly worth digging deep into your wallets if you`re a fan of the film. It would be less expensive if you purchase "The Naked Gun" box set that has all three films on DVD in one big box.