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National Security

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National Security (2003)

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Reviews Counted:85

Fresh:10

Rotten:75

Average Rating:3.3/10

Consensus: The action in National Security is mindless, while the humor says nothing insightful about racial issues.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for violence, language and some sensuality

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Jan 17, 2003 Wide

Box Office: $35,764,982

Synopsis: In the hilarious, action-packed comedy National Security, Martin Lawrence (Earl Montgomery) stars as a cocky L.A. P.D. cadet who would probably be a great cop if he weren’t such a show-off. Earl’s... In the hilarious, action-packed comedy National Security, Martin Lawrence (Earl Montgomery) stars as a cocky L.A. P.D. cadet who would probably be a great cop if he weren’t such a show-off. Earl’s rebellious attitude gets him thrown out of the police academy and he has to settle for a job as a lowly security guard with "National Security."

After a run-in with an uptight police officer, Hank Rafferty (Steve Zahn), Earl accuses him of harassment. Hank loses his badge, is thrown into jail, and eventually winds up working for National Security as well.

Earl’s overzealous behavior leads to a sophisticated smuggling operation led by Nash (Eric Roberts) and a possible police cover-up.

Now everyone wants Earl and Hank dead – though they just may kill each other first.

Columbia Pictures presents An Outlaw/Intermedia/Firm Films Production, National Security starring Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn. Colm Feore, Bill Duke, Eric Roberts, Timothy Busfield and Robinne Lee co-star. The director is Dennis Dugan. The screenplay is written by Jay Scherick & David Ronn. Bobby Newmyer, Jeff Silver and Michael Green are the producers. Moritz Borman, Guy East, Nigel Sinclair and Martin Lawrence are the executive producers. Oliver Wood is the director of photography. Larry Fulton is the production designer. Debra Neil-Fisher, A.C.E, is the editor. April Ferry is the costume designer. The music is by Randy Edelman. The music supervision is by Michelle Kuznetsky and Mary Ramos.

National Security is rated PG-13 for violence, language and some sensuality. [More]

Starring: Martin Lawrence, Steve Zahn, Eric Roberts, Bill Duke

Starring: Martin Lawrence, Steve Zahn, Eric Roberts, Bill Duke, Colm Feore, Timothy Busfield

Director: Dennis Dugan

Director: Dennis Dugan
Screenwriter: David Ronn, Jay Scherick
Producer: Michael Green, Jeffrey Silver, Bobby Newmeyer
Composer: Randy Edelman
Studio: Columbia Pictures

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Release:

Nov 18, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • When Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys) and Steve Zahn (Daddy Day Care) team up as security guards, no one's safe! LAPD reject and major troublemaker, Earl (Lawrence), got L.A. cop Hank (Zahn) kicked off theforce for brutality. Now, these two guys, who can't stand each other, are stuck working together aslowly security guards. And they're playing cops to bring down a smuggling ring if they can stay alive and stay one step ahead of the real cops. Co-starring Eric Roberts (The Specialist), NATIONAL SECURITY will take you on a wild ride with the most unlikely heroes ever to wear a badge!
  • Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for National Security

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    41 - 60 (sorted by date)
    Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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    It's all right out of Beverly Hills Cop, without the originality the premise had 20 years ago or Eddie Murphy's grinning manic humor.

    Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
    01/19/03
    Paul Clinton (Boxoffice)
    Paul Clinton (Boxoffice)
    Boxoffice Magazine

    Has a none-too-subtle racist agenda that is thoroughly unfunny and repellent.

    Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
    01/18/03
    Dustin Putman
    Dustin Putman
    DustinPutman.com
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
    01/18/03
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
    01/18/03
    Eric D. Snider
    Eric D. Snider
    EricDSnider.com

    Someone has to save us from Lawrence's onslaught of cinematic dross.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
    01/18/03
    Bill Muller
    Bill Muller
    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
    01/18/03
    Emily Blunt
    Emily Blunt
    Blunt Review

    A lame blend of comedy and action in which both credibility and laughs are blown to smithereens.

    Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
    01/18/03
    Robert Denerstein
    Robert Denerstein
    Denver Rocky Mountain News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A retread of all those buddies-in- the-cop-car pictures of the 1980s; not even slightly dusted off.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Desson Thomson
    Desson Thomson
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A by-the-numbers sop to adolescent testosterone overload.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Ann Hornaday
    Ann Hornaday
    Washington Post

    The cliched plot and unconvincing action sequences ... don't blend well with the comic scenes and make the film look painfully cheap.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Angel Cohn
    Angel Cohn
    TV Guide's Movie Guide

    The film is clearly an anti-racist warning, but Earl's silly, closed-minded anger is a major distraction from the comedy though most of the movie.

    Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Daphne Gordon
    Daphne Gordon
    Toronto Star

    It's a slapdash, heavily marked-down affair.

    Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
    St. Paul Pioneer Press

    Dugan 'directs' with all the subtlety and nuance he brought to 1999's Big Daddy. Which is to say, none.

    Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Todd Anthony
    Todd Anthony
    South Florida Sun-Sentinel

    Boneheaded throwaway.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Ted Fry
    Ted Fry
    Seattle Times

    A boring and unnecessary throwback to the big and boisterous action comedies from the '80s.

    Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Jim Judy
    Jim Judy
    Screen It!

    Combines a sour story with a repellent lead character, deadly comic schtick and tin-eared direction to produce 90 minutes of sheer, plodding mirthlessness.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Mick LaSalle
    Mick LaSalle
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Colliding police cruisers generate more sparks than Lawrence and Zahn, who create very little chemistry as a buddy team.

    Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Jack Garner
    Jack Garner
    Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

    Is there anything worse than a Martin Lawrence movie?

    Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Kevin N. Laforest
    Kevin N. Laforest
    Montreal Film Journal

    The plot settles quickly into a conventional buddy movie framework.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Gary Thompson
    Gary Thompson
    Philadelphia Daily News

    If it does anything at all, National Security should demonstrate the diminishing returns of Lawrence trying to outswagger, outsass and outshoot Eddie Murphy.

    Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
    01/17/03
    Gene Seymour
    Gene Seymour
    Newsday
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
    41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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