Film Snail

6.0

National Security

PG-13·2003·89m

Action

Comedy

Crime

Action

Comedy

Crime

Summary

Earl Montgomery, a bombastic police academy reject, and Hank Rafferty, a disgraced, mild-mannered cop, can't seem to escape each other. They met on opposite sides of the law during a routine traffic stop that escalated out of control; now as lowly security guards they're thrown together to bust a smuggling operation.

Cast

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

Brett Cullen

Heston

Ken Lerner

Hank's Lawyer

Matt McCoy

Robert Barton

Joe Flaherty

Owen Fergus

Mari Morrow

Lola

Cleo King

Woman in Car

Gerry Del Sol

Booking Clerk

Stephen Tobolowsky

Billy Narthax

Keith Cooke

Ang

Mike Brady

Smith

Troy Gilbert

Cain

Anthony G. Schmidt

Eddie

Joe Bucaro III

Bratton

Carl Ciarfalio

Stanton

Bobby McLaughlin

Ashcroft

Robert Harvey

Cop at Impound Yard

John Henry Binder

Cop at Impound Yard

Margaret Travolta

Judge

Wayne Morse

Bailiff

Terry Logan

LAPD Cop

Mark Lonow

Detective at Interrogation

Jeff Ross

Security Guard

Jocko Marcellino

Sarcastic Cop

Jonathan Loughran

Sarcastic Cop

Noel Gugliemi

Latino Convict

Hiep Thi Le

McDuff's Secretary

Leslie Jones

Trucker Woman

Dawn Lewis

Woman at Impound Yard

Jackie Flynn

Guard in Solitary

Hal Fishman

Andy Dugan

Student Driver

Mickey Gilbert

Driving Instructor

Richardson Morse

Detective

Ben Hernandez Bray

Detective

Tom Forrest

Obnoxious Guy

Amy Aquino

Councilwoman

Amanda Van Roberts

Rich Lady

Michael Grasso

Training Cop

Bruce Franklin

Training Facility Officer

Daniel Sudick

Training Facility Officer

Maia Danziger

Jaguar Lady

Greg Serano

Carjacker

Martin Klebba

Security Guard (uncredited)

Kevin Beard

Taylor (uncredited)

Michael Beardsley

Opening Scene Motorist (uncredited)

Frank Carlopio

Cadet Lopez (uncredited)

Ray Huffman

Security Officer (uncredited)

Errol Sack

Bus Driver (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Dennis Dugan

Writer

David Ronn

Writer

Jay Scherick

Reviews

r96sk

January 12, 2025

<em>'National Security'</em> isn't terribly adrift from being a standard Martin Lawrence flick, which would be a compliment as he is an actor I've mildly enjoyed in said sorta roles down the years. This one just doesn't work, which is a shame as I also like co-star Steve Zahn in other films too.

Zahn feels miscast, Lawrence is the one that stops this from truly falling through the floor. There are good jokes in there, albeit via the overly relied upon race humour, and it features some solid practical effects/stunts. I just never really got into it, nor did I sense that the leads were a satisfactory match for each other.