Product Details

• Actors: Martin Lawrence, Steve Zahn, Colm Feore, Bill Duke, Eric Roberts
• Directors: Dennis Dugan
• Writers: David Ronn, Jay Scherick
• Producers: Martin Lawrence, Andy Given, Guy East, Jeff Kwatinetz, Jeffrey Silver
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: May 27, 2003
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008WJEI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,453 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Although it's enjoyable as a brainless diversion, National Security is one of those forgettable entertainments that denies its own considerable potential. It's a police action comedy in the mold of Beverly Hills Cop, tailored to the buddy-flick formula and laced with racial tensions of the post-Rodney King era. It's set in Los Angeles, where dedicated cop Hank (Steve Zahn) does jail time for allegedly beating Earl (Martin Lawrence), whose only real assailant was an overzealous bumblebee. As fate and lazy screenwriting would have it, the two adversaries reunite as security guards, teaming up to crack a team of violent smugglers led by bleached-blonde Eric Roberts (further proof that this movie's got nothing new to offer). Routine stunts distract from the comedy's mostly untapped resource: Lawrence pointedly riffs on racial profiling, and his prolific ad-libs play well against Zahn's by-the-book straight man. If their partnership had been allowed to develop more believably, National Security might have been more than a blip on the box-office radar. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

Steve Zahn plays the straight man to Martin Lawrence's motormouth in this action comedy directed by Dennis Dugan. More action than comedy, the film begins with promise as a satire on racial profiling-Zahn plays an overzealous cop who assumes that Lawrence is stealing a car (he's just locked his keys inside). Later, employed as a security guard, Zahn teams up with Lawrence to solve a murder. Their capers are mildly amusing, and Zahn gives his role a lot of frustrated energy, but Lawrence (who picked up twenty million dollars for this film) never develops a real rapport with his partner-he's too busy overacting like a star. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Okay, June 16, 2003

By 

musiclover13 (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: National Security (Special Edition) (DVD)

I wasn't expecting much from the film, "National Security," but what I got wasn't that great either.

This film revolves around a man (Martin Lawrence) who is trying to be a cop. He gets kicked out of the police academy and must resort to being a security guard. One day he comes face to face with a police officer (Steve Zahn) who accidently thinks Lawrence's character is breaking into a car. What happens next looks like a Rodney King beating, but really isn't. Zahn's character is sent to jail and when he gets out can only find a job as a security guard. Zahn's partner was also killed, so once he's out of jail, he's on a quest to find his partner's killer. Lawrence and Zahn then team up, under crazy circumstances, to find the killers and bring them to justice.

There are a few funny moments in the movie, but they are far and few between. Martin Lawrence's previous films, such as "Bad Boys" and "Nothing to Lose" were much better and funnier. I would have to agree with others when they say there were too many racial jokes throughout the film. Just about every sentence that came out of Martin's mouth had some sort of racial slur in it. After awhile it became very annoying.

Those who really enjoy Martin Lawrence's films may enjoy this movie, but I would suggest just leaving this one on the shelf and waiting for "Bad Boys 2" to come out this summer.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Martin Lawrences best movie since Blue Streak, January 26, 2003

By 

bart "wwfrockfan" (Framingham, MA) - See all my reviews

National Security is the perfect movie to see this year. I saw it the day it came out and I want to see it again. It stars one of the best comedians today (Martin Lawrence) and another funny misfit (Steve Zahn from SAVING SILVERMAN). The movie is funny yet has good action. Here is the plot.
Steve Zhan plays Hank. An LA policeman who is bent on revenge to finding the guy who killed his partner in gun battle. Lawrence is Earl. A guy who just got kicked out of the force after turning a practice session into a disaster. Plus Earl always thinks that people have a problem with him because he is black- not because of his attitude. One day while Earl is trying to have a regular day, he realizes he left his keys in his car and tried to stick his hand in and get it. Hank catches him and interrogates what is going on. While that is happening, a bee comes by and Earl is allergic to bees and so Hank tries to get the bee away but the way they were positioned, it looked like Hank was beating on Earl and a guy who near by got the whole thing on camera. Because of that, a huge commotion started thru out the state about a white cop beating a black civilian. Hank is fired from the police and sent to jail for 6 months and Earl just kicks back and lets the whole thing happen even though he knows it was a bee.
Hank serves his six months and after getting out he tries to do something similar toward police work- a job as a security guard. While on the job, Hanks gets called about a robbery and goes to check it out. It seems that the robbers were the guys he had an encounter with in the past and one of the guys was his partner's murderer. Hank goes into action right away and a fellow security guard who worked in the building comes to back up Hank and that person just happens to be Earl!! The two would've had a long argument but realized it wasn't the time and chased the bad guys but they were stopped by the police. Police that Hank kidnapped Earl for revenge but Earl decided not to have anything bad happen to Hank this time although it would have felt real good. Hank goes on to try find these guys who did the robbery because its personal and Earl thinks it is personal too because one them called him a monkey- and he thinks he was called that because he is black. Both Hank and Earl go on the case even though they are not policemen and along the way they go through many arguments that sometimes lead toward zany consequences like fighting over which to go on the street- right or left and they end up jumping the highway into a pile of portable toilets. Hank and Earl must try to put the past aside so they can help each other to try and find these bad guys.
National Security loaded with intense action, thrilling chase scenes, gun battles, fist fights, and many parts that will make you laugh hard. It's definitely as good as blue Steak and you should see it while it is still in theaters.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good., October 14, 2004

By 

bammargerafan187 (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Security (Special Edition) (DVD)

This is about a guy( Martin Lawrence), who accuses a cop( Steve Zahn) of beating him, so he can get on the police force, whn really he was just beating a bee that Martin Lawrences charactar was afraid of. So he goes to prison for 6 months, than they reunite, and have to stick together to take down some criminals. Good Film!