National Security on DVD

Martin Lawrence stars in another run-of-the-mill comedy.

The film follows two men - a police officer named Hank (Steve Zahn) and a police wannabe named Earl (Martin Lawrence) in Los Angeles. Hank and his partner investigate a break-in at a local self-storage facility, where Hank's partner is killed. Meanwhile, Earl is kicked out of the Police Academy for over-zealous, overly energetic tactics which result in a police cruiser going up in flames.

Shortly thereafter, Earl finds he's locked his keys in his car, and is spotted by Hank as he tries to reach in to get them. Hank naturally suspects that Earl is trying to steal the car and confronts him; Earl's smart mouth rubs Hank the wrong way, so Hank attempts an arrest. Earl continues to provoke the cop, who then pulls out his nightstick and pins him to the car. Things get worse when a bumble-bee comes near and Earl freaks out. The pair are caught on tape by a nearby tourist as Hank tries to whack the bee (who seems to like Earl) with his stick and Earl convulses in terror.

The tape reaches the news, along with a picture of a puffy-faced Earl (from the bee-sting), and Hank winds up sentenced to six months in prison for beating a black man (of course Earl makes no attempt to clarify the situation). Hank serves his time in solitary confinement to prevent being thrashed by the black inmates at the prison, after which he joins the National Security company, where Earl works. The two meet up trying to foil a warehouse robbery and end up chasing the mysterious men, uncovering crooked cops, and all the usual fun of a formulaic comedy script.

I personally find Martin Lawrence is more often than not rather un-funny. He's supposed to be the comical goof, with all the expected black-angst, but whether it be because it's overdone or because it's pretty much the same character he seems to always play, I only managed a couple of laughs through the entire 88 minutes.

There are a couple of chuckles, too, that were ruined by the trailers (such as when Lawrence plays cop with his girlfriend and has her strip-search herself). Steve Zahn's character is tightly wound, and his explosions at Lawrence's inconsiderate nature (such as his hypocritical disapproval of Hank's interracial relationship because he's white, shortly before hitting on a white girl) comprise most of the humour in the film. But for me it's not enough to save it.

Your mileage may vary - basically if you like Martin Lawrence you'll probably like this one.

The DVD itself was average. The picture was good, featuring both an anamorphic widescreen version and a Pan&Scan version on the same side of the disc (you pick between them when you press "play," which is an extra step, but at least you don't have to worry about picking the wrong disc or even the wrong side).

Sound was also pretty good, though there were no options other than language - Dolby Digital only. Not that this is the kind of movie that really benefits from fantastic video and sound anyway, so it's not a huge deal.

Special features were minimal, consisting of a director's commentary, a deleted scene and an alternate ending, plus a few trailers.

End result - this DVD is not one I'd go out and buy. There weren't even enough prominent good looking women to fill in the gaps. If you like Martin Lawrence, go ahead and rent it - just because I didn't enjoy it doesn't mean you won't.

National Security, from Columbia Tristar Home Video
88 min. anamorphic widescreen (16x9 TV compatible)/ Pan&Scan, Dolby Digital 5.1
Starring Martin Lawrence, Steve Zahn, Colm Feore, Bill Duke, Eric Roberts
Produced by Bobby Newmyer, Jeff Silver, Michael Green
Written by Jay Scherick & David Ronn, Directed by Dennis Dugan

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