'

Best Defense

Play trailer

Best Defense

R

1984

1h 34m

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

13%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

An engineer (Dudley Moore) fails to get the bugs out of a tank before an Army officer (Eddie Murphy) has to use it in Kuwait.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Vincent Canby

New York Times

It really isn't easy to make a movie as mind-bendingly bad as Best Defense. It takes hard work, a very great deal of money and people so talented that it matters when they fail with such utter lack of distinction.

Rated: 0.5/5

Oct 30, 2007

Full Review

Trevor Johnston

Time Out

A dismally unfunny shambles.

Oct 30, 2007

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

In 1984, Paramount suits found themselves with a truly awful picture on their hands. Their solution? Make it even more awful!

Rated: 1/4

Mar 27, 2025

Full Review

TV Guide

Try as they may, neither the cast nor the filmmakers can cover up the fact that this movie, like Moore's prototype, is a dud.

Rated: 0/4

Oct 30, 2007

Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

Aiming for the zaniness of Catch-22, this comedy misfires.

Rated: 1/5

Aug 21, 2004

Full Review

Read all reviews

CodyZamboni Z

Mostly successful comedy about the defense industry. Parallell story lines about the development of a weapon system, and its' near disasterous use in armed conflict., There are some truly funny lines, especially from Eddie Murphy, Lots of high energy from both Eddie and Dudley Moore, David Rasche as a hit man, also has some good moments, And truly funny Indiana Jones joke from Kate Capshaw, Movie hits snags with over the top cussing, and some gags that fall flat, But manages to right the ship by the end.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/08/25

Full Review

mark g

What the hell was this? Tragically tedious and mundane. Although it is so amusing to see Moore's character pursue an extramarital affair.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Such a waste of talent on a poor scripted comedy

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Me gusto mucho, es interesante las dos lineas temporales que presenta, una en 1982 con el ingeniero desarrollando el sistema del tanque y la otra en kuwait 1984 con el sargento pribando el super tanque. Si bien por momentos tiene un humor muy simple e infantil, el concepto general es entretenido. A pesar de las pobres criticas recibidas cuando se estreno y que Eddi Murphy odio hacerla. Con el vhs y cable se popularizo

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Underrated and hilarious.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Completely disjointed given its two stars never meet, nor actually exist in the same time period. If you read into the background of this film though Eddie Murphy was not in it initially, but even drafting him in to add extra scenes to try and lift this comedy does not work.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Willard Huyck

Director

Dudley Moore

Wylie Cooper

Eddie Murphy

Lieutenant T.M. Landry

Kate Capshaw

Laura Cooper

Helen Shaver

Clair Lewis

George Dzundza

Steve Loparino

View more photos

Synopsis

An engineer (Dudley Moore) fails to get the bugs out of a tank before an Army officer (Eddie Murphy) has to use it in Kuwait.

Director: Willard Huyck
Producer: Gloria Katz
Screenwriter: Gloria Katz, Willard Huyck
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Cinema Group Ventures
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2011
Runtime: 1h 34m

Most Popular at Home Now