Gears of War and The Naked Gun

What does a comedy classic have in common with a high-stakes action game? #cinema #videogames

Welcome to another Wednesday with Artcade, where comedy masterpieces even poke fun at dystopian futures. At different times in my life, the two works we're discussing today have brought me immense joy. This episode is a celebration of both. Enjoy the read!

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The Naked Gun and its sequel, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, were cornerstones of comedy during a time when absurd, over-the-top humor was thriving. Or perhaps they feel so significant to me because I was a kid, and they made me laugh until I cried. The day after they aired on TV (back then, you watched whatever was broadcast), my friends and I would spend the day reenacting the jokes we knew by heart, laughing just as much as the first time.

In this scene (image below), the movie pokes fun at the trope (still alive today) of action films featuring implausible shootouts, where antagonists suddenly suffer from "twisted aim syndrome," missing targets spectacularly even at point-blank range.