National Security is a 2003 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, and starring Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn. The supporting cast includes Bill Duke, Eric Roberts, Colm Feore, and Matt McCoy. It was shot at various locations in Greater Los Angeles, including Long Beach and Santa Clarita.

The film was released on January 17 2003, received negative reviews from critics, and grossed over $54 million worldwide at the box office.

Plot
 
As LAPD policemen Hank Rafferty and Charlie Reed investigate a warehouse heist by a gang of thieves, Charlie is killed before they escape. Meanwhile, Earl Montgomery's lifelong dream to become a police officer is thwarted when he flunks police academy for accidentally causing an explosion. 

Frustrated that Detective Frank McDuff won't allow Hank to aide in the investigation of Charlie's death, he sees Earl trying to get into his car after locking his keys inside. When Hank questions him, Earl race-baits and insults him until he tries to arrest him. A bumblebee comes along, to which Earl is allergic, causing him to panic. 

From afar, it seems that Hank is brutalizing Earl when he is actually shooing the bee away with his baton; a man catches the incident on video. The incriminating evidence and a spiteful Earl lies about the alleged brutality. So, Hank is terminated from the police force, charged with aggravated assault and sentenced to six months.

After his release, Hank takes a job as a security guard and continues investigating Charlie's death. Noticing an alarm being tripped at a soda warehouse, Hank goes to investigate. Earl, who works for the same security company, is on duty at the warehouse but is distracted. Hank interrupts the heist, and a gunfight erupts, during which Hank and Earl cross paths again. They give chase but are stopped for speeding.

One of the thieves drops a cell phone, which leads them to a semi-trailer truck. Inside it, Hank and Earl find the thieves' van. Earl tries to hotwire the van but accidentally triggers the alarm, alerting the thieves. After a brief shootout, Hank and Earl escape by driving the van out of the truck and off the edge of the Vincent Thomas Bridge. 

The van contains seemingly ordinary beer kegs; however at a foundry they discover they are actually made of an atomic aerospace alloy worth millions. They hide the van and the kegs in Hank's ex-girlfriend Denise's. As broke up when Hank was convicted, Hank asks Earl to tell Denise the truth about the "assault". Earl promises, but when he sees she is an attractive black woman, he instead hits on her, playing the victim again. This causes another fight between them, and Denise kicks them both out. 

After a heated argument, Hank punches Earl in the face before storming off. Later, the pair is cornered by police, as they are suspects in the earlier shootout. They escape and Hank realizes the thieves must have a mole in the police department.

That night, the pair trace the van's owner's address and stake it out, but Earl rushes inside on his own and is confronted by the thieves. Hank arrives just as Earl is shot in the leg, and before they escape, he recognizes Nash, Charlie's murderer. When Hank takes Earl to Denise to get his wound treated (which is just a graze), a bee flies in and Earl freaks out, making Denise realize that Hank's story about the "assault" on Earl was actually true. She slaps Earl for lying and reconciles with Hank.

Based on something overheard from Nash, they follow him to a meeting at a yacht club and witness him talking to McDuff, his inside man. Hank and Earl tell Hank's former boss, Lieutenant Washington, everything they know and then pretend to approach McDuff, offering to sell him back the "beer kegs" for $1 million. However, Nash learns about their plans and takes Washington hostage first. 

During the confrontation the next day, Earl and Hank meet with McDuff, Nash, and their men near the coast. Rescuing Washington, the trio manage to kill or apprehend most of Nash's gang, including McDuff. Hank is shot, but survives and kills Nash by catapulting him into the ocean with a crane's lifting hook, finally avenging Charlie's death.

Six months later, in honor of their heroic actions, Hank is reinstated in the LAPD while Earl is admitted to the force. Partners, they encounter a situation similar to how they met, in which a man is apparently locked out of his car. Earl helps him but discovers he is actually a thief. He successfully stops him by shooting at the car, but the vehicle explodes soon after.

Cast
 Martin Lawrence as Earl Montgomery
 Steve Zahn as Hank Rafferty
 Colm Feore as Detective Frank McDuff
 Bill Duke as Lieutenant Washington
 Eric Roberts as Nash
 Timothy Busfield as Charlie Reed
 Robinne Lee as Denise
 Matt McCoy as District Attorney Robert Barton
 Brett Cullen as Heston
 Mari Morrow as Lola
 Stephen Tobolowsky as Billy Narthax
 Margaret Travolta as Judge
 Noel Gugliemi as Latino Convict
 Jonathan Loughran as Sarcastic Cop
 Leslie Jones as Britney, Trucker Woman
 Hal Fishman as himself
 Martin Klebba as Security Guard (uncredited)

Music
The main songs are:
 "Silly" - The Warden
 "One of These Days" - Wu-Tang Clan
 "95 South" - Cool Ade
 "All Good? - De La Soul
 "N.S.E.W." - Disturbing tha Peace
 Fruko y Sus Tesos ("El Preso") 
 Graveyard Soldjas ("Don't Start None") 
 Petey Pablo ("Blow Your Whistle") 
 Tracy ("One More Try") 
 Barry White ("Can't Get Enough Of Your Love Babe") 
 Fingaz ("Baby") 
 95 South ("Cool Ade (Extended Mix)") 
 Lil' O ("Ay Yo") 
 Bathgate ("Bump That") 
 Damian Valentine ("Revolution")

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 11% based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 3.5/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The action in National Security is mindless, while the humor says nothing insightful about racial issues." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 34 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on scale of A+ to F.

Joe Leydon of Variety wrote that "Despite some tasty contributions from Lawrence and Zahn, too much of National Security has the bland flavor of microwaved leftovers." A. O. Scott of The New York Times said it "Lacks the wit to do anything new and instead recycles tired jokes and attitudes." Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune wrote was critical of the script but said the actors save the film, and concludes "I wouldn't race out to see "National Security," but it does give you exactly what you'd expect: yocks, explosions and funny brawling buddies rolling all over those over-used L.A. freeways." Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post panned the film calling it "a by-the-numbers sop to adolescent testosterone overload" and said that to call Lawrence "a poor man's Richard Pryor" was both an insult to Pryor and to poor people.
Tom Long of The Detroit News wrote that the movie was "loud, crass, dumb and then even dumber." John Monaghan of the Detroit Free Press highlighted what he saw as an "off-putting" racial subtext that made him unable to enjoy the movie.

Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave it a positive review and called it "A funny, raucous action comedy, effectively teams Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn in a film that's both laugh out loud funny and surprisingly subtle."

References

External links
 
 

2003 films
2003 comedy films
2003 action comedy films
2000s buddy comedy films
2000s buddy cop films
American action comedy films
American buddy comedy films
American buddy cop films
American crime comedy films
Columbia Pictures films
2000s English-language films
Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department
Films about security and surveillance
Films directed by Dennis Dugan
Films scored by Randy Edelman
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles
2000s American films