National Security

why is it martin lawrance always has to do black and white jokes in all of his films? brother this and brother that. frankly, im getting sick of it. also why isnt steve zahn on the cover of the dvd? finally i think steve is an under-rated actor. he rocks!

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.

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

The film features two guys who are security guards teaming up to stop something foul, so it is sort of different I guess; however, the John Candy and Eugene Levy security guard duo movie is superior. I do like Steve Zahn and he makes this film a lot better than it has any right to be; yet, from a lot of posters and such, you would think he is a secondary character at best to Martin Lawrence who is front and center of all the promotional stuff for this film. Seems a bit unfair, considering the movie does actually center on Zahn's character more than Lawrence, who is funny in this, don't get me wrong, he just seems to be the second guy in this film.

The story in this one, Earl, played by Zahn and his partner are police and they end up in a very dangerous setting where Earl's partner is killed. Earl catches Lawrence's character after getting the boot from the police academy trying to reach in his car because he locked the keys in. Due to each other's situation at the moment, their meeting gets blown out of proportion and Earl ends up fired and imprisoned for beating Martin Lawrence, though in reality it was a bee sting that got Lawrence! Soon, Earl is out of prison and using any connection he can to try and find his partner's killer and soon he and Lawrence are reunited and find themselves in a plot involving some space aged metal!

As I said, Steve Zahn carries the film with Lawrence adding a bit of humorous touches here and there. I think they went overboard in how they got Earl terminated from his job, but I was glad everything worked out a bit in the end. Martin at times can be a bit much, so I am glad the focus is on Zahn as you almost want to tell Martin to settle down a bit with the ranting.

So, the film had its moments and was a bit funny. The action was pretty good in it too and probably overlooked as everyone is thinking this is strictly a comedy. One of those films my wife picked for movie night that was not too bad to watch; however, the film is not anything I would like to see again either unless it just happened to be on for some background noise. Wish Steve Zahn was in more stuff, because I always find him very funny as an actor; of course, these days you do not see much of him or Lawrence in films.

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.