National Security

L.A. cops Charlie and Hank respond to what they believe is a false alarm. It is not, but they went to check out the situation just in case. Charlie is killed.

Earl wants to be an L.A. cop but his outrageous and reckless behavior gets him kicked out of the academy. Never mind that Earl can do no wrong because any criticism from whites is the result of racism against black people.

Hank is bitter about losing his partner, so it doesn't help matters that he is the one who catches Earl trying to break into his own car. And Earl is allergic to bees so when a bee complicates the situation and Hank tries to swat the bee, and Earl is mostly behind the car so the person videotaping the scene can't really tell what's going on ...

It's Rodney King all over again. And the joke of a trial gets Hank sent up the river.

Six months later, Earl and Hank work for the same security company. Hank ends up at the Coca-Cola warehouse where Earl works because, while the guys who got Charlie killed are up to no good, Earl is making out with the secretary.

The result: a whole lot of wasted soda.

Earl and Hank now have to learn to work together so they can catch the guys responsible for Charlie's death. Never mind that they are not real cops. The results are hilarious and fun. There is even an exciting car chase which results in the pursuing cop cars turning upside down.

This is just a fun movie with some explosions, crashes and other excitement and plenty of laughs. Don't look for outstanding acting or writing, but to me Martin Lawrence is quite appealing despite his constant racist attitude. Toward the end, this is actually pretty good as the guys work toward solving the mystery.

One actor stands out: Cleo King is a black woman who picks up the guys when they need a ride. And she won't take any attitude, though she is really a nice person. She's not around long.

Martin Lawrence's stunt man (or men) does an impressive job. It's scary what they let him do.

Don't expect too much, and you won't be disappointed.

I'm always amazed when I look back at how underrated this movie is. 6/10 is understandable, but anything lower is just now fair.

There are mountains of good comedy within the show, mostly prompted by Martin Lawrence's antics.

I always look back at how many jokes people remember from a comedy and if it's more than 2, it usually means it was successful. They may have not been PC, they may not have been witty, but they got the job done.

I've seen a lot more critically acclaimed movies that I struggle to remember at least one funny scene from.

I thought the movie started off very good with a serious tone of intrigue and suspense. That's what attracted me to watch it while channel surfing.

Although it's the first film I've seen with Steve Zahn, I thought he was genuine in his portrayal of emotion over the death of his fellow officer. His loyalty and respect for his friend and partner showed in every aspect of his acting.

Enter Martin Lawrence . . . then it became too silly.

As for, Bill Duke and Eric Roberts, they're always great in my opinion. Seasoned and mature actors.

I just can't take Martin Lawrence seriously. He's a funny comedian, but this type of silly slapstick takes away from the suspense of the film. The whole "bee" story, police academy farce, as well as the girl with the handcuffs, along with a few more so-called "funny" scenes, should have been re-written to better fit the plot. It's cute for situation comedy, but not for a movie that starts on such a serious tone. It's misleading and kills the suspense.

The movie would have been much better without it.

Decent action sequences, and Lawrence/Zahn make a good team. A poor man's Gibson/Glover.

However, EVERY joke being racial got tiresome QUICK. From the preview (and EVERY other Martin movie I've seen) I figured as much. Too bad I wasn't surprised.

Worth the $2 I spent on rental, but if I spent $8 to see it first-run I'd have been sorely disappointed.

6/10

This movie could have worked if Martin Lawrence wasn't so goofy and over the top. He was just flat out annoying in this movie. Maybe the writing was so poor that this is the only way for him to play the character, or maybe he had too much artistic license and the director was too sheepish to keep him in line. Whatever the case, the movie isn't a total loss, but you know you have a bomb on your hands when your two year old likes this seemingly adult-oriented movie more than his father did.