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Best Defense

Play trailer Poster for Best Defense R 1984 1h 34m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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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.
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Best Defense

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
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

Audience Reviews

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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
Best Defense

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Movie Info

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
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