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National Security
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National Security (2003) More at IMDbPro »

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National Security (2003) -- Two mismatched security guards are thrown together to bust a smuggling operation.
National Security (2003) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
5.0/10   12,178 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Jay Scherick (written by) &
David Ronn (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for National Security on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
17 January 2003 (USA) more
Tagline:
They only look like cops. more
Plot:
Two mismatched security guards are thrown together to bust a smuggling operation. full summary | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
User Comments:
What the problem is? more (124 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Martin Lawrence ... Earl Montgomery

Steve Zahn ... Hank Rafferty

Colm Feore ... Detective Frank McDuff
Bill Duke ... Lieutenant Washington

Eric Roberts ... Nash
Timothy Busfield ... Charlie Reed

Robinne Lee ... Denise

Matt McCoy ... Robert Barton

Brett Cullen ... Heston
Cleo King ... Woman in Car

Gerry Del Sol ... Booking Clerk

Ken Lerner ... Hank's Lawyer
Mari Morrow ... Lola

Stephen Tobolowsky ... Billy Narthax

Joe Flaherty ... Owen Fergus
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for violence, language and some sensuality.
Runtime:
88 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Earl's automatic pistol, "Earl Jr.", is a Glock 18C. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: When Hank is let out of the hole, he punched the guard. A prisoner never has the chance to attack guards while in the hole because they are cuffed while still in the cell, also there is always at least two guards for escort not one. more
Quotes:
[Hank is mad at Earl]
Hank: You got something in your teeth.
Earl: Where, here or here?
[Hank punches Earl]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Film Geek (2005) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
17 out of 23 people found the following comment useful.
What the problem is?, 17 October 2005
7/10
Author: Shawn Watson (gator_macready@yahoo.com) from The Underverse

I usually don't like Martin Lawrence and I find his anti-white humor to be quite offensive as well as his string of bad movies. But compared to his other movie of 2003 (that would be the shockingly awful Bad Boys II), National Security is a rather easy-going and light-hearted cop comedy flick with quite a few good laughs. A lot of them, surprisingly, coming from Lawrence himself.

Hank Rafferty (Steve Zahn)is a cop who is unfairly thrown in jail for apparently beating a black suspect (Lawrence) who just got kicked out of Police Academy. With his career in tatters he emerges from the slammer with only one job opportunity available; a lowly guard for a lowly security company. Determined to follow up on the big case he was involved with before serving time, he crosses the path of fellow security guard Earl Montgomery (Lawrence again) and the two reignite their old conflict.

The old love/hate buddy thing may be old and the plot may be silly but it's a great excuse for loads of action set-pieces and humor. The potentially dangerous comedy of black vs white never becomes offensive and is handled with such lightness that it never becomes an issue. Both men have their failings and bonuses and are as equal as each other. You really do feel a great partnership between them despite their arguing and fights.

Give National Security a try. It's slick and fast-moving and is a helluva lot better than Bad Boys II. You'll probably be surprised at how funny Martin Lawrence is. I was.

The DVD is in great looking 1.85:1 widescreen with pretty good Dolby 5.1 sound. The scenes where Lawrence uses his automatic pistol really pack a heavy punch in the .1 LFE channel. The usual deleted scenes and commentary are included on the DVD but I was surprised the extended ending wasn't included in the film. It would have been better with it.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (124 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for National Security (2003)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Martin Lawrence is a Racist person Samuraiguy
song help!! jordanspops04
why did this film anger me? skoglio
This movie fails because Zahn is endearing and Lawrence obnoxious KingofCarrotFlowers
Armed and Dangerous westleigh-quattrone
That song! der_hhanger
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