National Security, Martin Lawrence, ... | POINT GUARDS Lawrence and Zahn hold a ''National Security'' council
POINT GUARDS Lawrence and Zahn hold a ''National Security'' council
Movie Review

National Security (2003)

EW's GRADE
C

Details Release Date: Jan 17, 2003; Rated: PG-13; Length: 91 Minutes; Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy; With: Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn

There's something funny about Martin Lawrence, and it's not his unstinting, hit-or-miss patter or his jerky physicality, which wastes more energy than the Cheney energy task force. No, the funny thing about Lawrence is he's often paired with a partner (e.g., ''Blue Streak,'' ''Bad Boys,'' etc.), yet has no aptitude for sharing the screen.

Playing overzealous security guard Earl Montgomery in National Security, he stubbornly refuses to jell with Steve Zahn's stolid patrolman, who's tossed off the force on Earl's trumped-up brutality charge. (The two muster enough racial harmony to hunt up some stolen beer kegs made of space-age alloy -- yup, you read that right.) Zahn, strapped to the straight-man gurney, looks perpetually on the verge of an aneurysm, relieved only by periodic slo-mo shootouts that set a new standard in post-Michael Bay preposterousness.

Originally posted Jan 15, 2003 Published in issue #692-693 Jan 24, 2003 Order article reprints

Add your comment

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.

500 characters remaining
Advertisement

Today's Most Popular

  1. Photo Gallery: Grammys 2012 Grammys: We grade the performances
  2. Photo Gallery: Grammy Awards 2012 Grammys 2012: Red carpet style