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Best Defense

  • 19841984
  • RR
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
3.8/10
6K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Best Defense (1984)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:52
1 Video
29 Photos
  • Comedy
  • War

A military weapons engineer struggles to do his job responsibly, while a hapless tank commander has to live with the consequences in combat years later.A military weapons engineer struggles to do his job responsibly, while a hapless tank commander has to live with the consequences in combat years later.A military weapons engineer struggles to do his job responsibly, while a hapless tank commander has to live with the consequences in combat years later.

IMDb RATING
3.8/10
6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Willard Huyck
  • Writers
    • Robert Grossbach(novel "Easy and Hard Ways Out")
    • Gloria Katz(screenplay)
    • Willard Huyck(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Dudley Moore
    • Eddie Murphy
    • Kate Capshaw
Top credits
  • Director
    • Willard Huyck
  • Writers
    • Robert Grossbach(novel "Easy and Hard Ways Out")
    • Gloria Katz(screenplay)
    • Willard Huyck(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Dudley Moore
    • Eddie Murphy
    • Kate Capshaw
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 40User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
    • 29Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Best Defense
    Trailer 2:52
    Best Defense

    Photos29

    Eddie Murphy in Best Defense (1984)
    Best Defense (1984)
    Best Defense (1984)
    Best Defense (1984)
    Best Defense (1984)
    Best Defense (1984)
    Best Defense (1984)
    Best Defense (1984)
    Eddie Murphy in Best Defense (1984)
    Eddie Murphy in Best Defense (1984)
    Dudley Moore and Helen Shaver in Best Defense (1984)
    Eddie Murphy in Best Defense (1984)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Dudley Moore
    Dudley Moore
    • Wylie Cooperas Wylie Cooper
    Eddie Murphy
    Eddie Murphy
    • Lieutenant T.M. Landryas Lieutenant T.M. Landry
    Kate Capshaw
    Kate Capshaw
    • Laura Cooperas Laura Cooper
    George Dzundza
    George Dzundza
    • Steve Loparinoas Steve Loparino
    Helen Shaver
    Helen Shaver
    • Clair Lewisas Clair Lewis
    Mark Arnott
    Mark Arnott
    • Harvey Brankas Harvey Brank
    Peter Michael Goetz
    Peter Michael Goetz
    • Frank Joyneras Frank Joyner
    Tom Noonan
    Tom Noonan
    • Frank Holtzmanas Frank Holtzman
    David Rasche
    David Rasche
    • Jeff the 'KBG' Agentas Jeff the 'KBG' Agent
    Paul Comi
    Paul Comi
    • Chief Agentas Chief Agent
    Darryl Henriques
    Darryl Henriques
    • Col. Zayas, San Salvadoras Col. Zayas, San Salvador
    Joel Polis
    Joel Polis
    • First Agentas First Agent
    John A. Zee
    • Col. McGuinnas Col. McGuinn
    Matthew Laurance
    Matthew Laurance
    • Ali, Landry's Tank Crewas Ali, Landry's Tank Crew
    Christopher Maher
    • Sayyid, Landry's Tank Crewas Sayyid, Landry's Tank Crew
    Lorry Goldman
    • Sol Rupp, Dynatechnicsas Sol Rupp, Dynatechnics
    Charles David Richards
    Charles David Richards
    • Muggeras Mugger
    • (as Stoney Richards)
    Tyler Tyhurst
    • American Captainas American Captain
    • Director
      • Willard Huyck
    • Writers
      • Robert Grossbach(novel "Easy and Hard Ways Out")
      • Gloria Katz(screenplay)
      • Willard Huyck(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Wylie is a lazy engineer. Landry is a Sergeant specialising in Armour. They have never met but their lives become entangled when Landry must take the tank Wylie designed into combat. Wylie is waiting for his employer to go out of business when he meets another engineer who gives him a disk with the plans for a system that will save his employer. The other engineer is dead moments later leaving Wylie with the disk and credit for the design. Suddenly Wylie is no longer a hack, but the saviour of his company and finds his life is no longer the same. —John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
    • lingerie
    • woman on top sex
    • prologue
    • scene during opening credits
    • year 1984
    • 73 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Unfortunately, they're both on our side.
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • War
    • Certificate
      • R
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Eddie Murphy's character was added to the film after the original version tested poorly with audiences.
    • Quotes

      Chief Padilla, Guatemala: Boom. Dead. Communista.

    • Alternate versions
      ABC edited just 35 seconds from this film for its 1987 network television premiere.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Stinkers of 1984 (1985)
    • Soundtracks
      On the Road Again
      Written by Willie Nelson

    User reviews40

    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    My confusion was more entertaining
    This is one of those few films from my childhood that made a strong impression on me, mainly for the Eddie Murphy's WAM joke. I remembered it had something to do with a faulty new tank in the Iraq war and US engineers at home desperately trying to make something work in it. Oh the good memories.

    But now that I rewatched it, well… Eddie Murphy and the tank take up only 1/5 of the movie, while everything else is dedicated to a poor plot about a looser caught up in a spy novel, later dropped and substituted for poor planning by the ministry of defense.

    Besides Murphy tank escapade, only the Russian spy was entertaining to watch, but he only appeared in a couple of scenes. Everything else was a chore to watch. The special effects aren't that impressive. The idiot boss is just intolerably dumb. The portrayal of foreigners were horrid. And I have no idea why the wife and child subplot was even necessary, because you could literally replace them with a sealing fan to resolve the main flaw. Oh… Guess I forgot those parts for a reason.

    One of the main problems was the editing of events – the tank was developed after the main plots got resolved, but the movie was spliced like it all was happening simultaneously. Unfortunately that meant that the tank flaws were already resolved, or not, so there was really no suspense.

    Let's just say the best parts of the movie were about 5-10 minutes long and I would not have missed anything rewatching it. At some points I even confused Dudley Moore's acting for a Rowan Atkinson impersonation. That confusion kept me more entertained then the actual movie.

    At least some of it is good to riff over.
    helpful•6
    1
    • neacorp
    • Apr 25, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 20, 1984 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Best Defence
    • Filming locations
      • Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Cinema Group Ventures
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $18,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $19,265,302
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $7,872,297
      • Jul 22, 1984
    • Gross worldwide
      • $19,265,302
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 34 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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