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IMDbPro

Best Defense

  • 19841984
  • RR
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
3.8/10
6.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
10,456
2,851
Best Defense (1984)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:52
1 Video
32 Photos
ComedyWar
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
6.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
10,456
2,851
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • 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
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Best Defense
    Trailer 2:52
    Best Defense

    Photos32

    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)
    Best Defense (1984)
    Best Defense (1984)
    Best Defense (1984)
    Eddie Murphy in Best Defense (1984)

    Top cast

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

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    Storyline

    Edit

    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
    Fairly amusing but the cross cutting between scenes occasionally gets tedious
    Dudley Moore and Eddie Murphy are two entirely different looking actors who have two things in common. They were both hugely popular box office comedy stars throughout the 1980's and they were both part of the cast of this 1984 Paramount release. If these two comedy titans had any scenes together, that could've made the film really great but despite that setback, the film is not a total waste. Two stories are told in the film. One has to do with technology programmer Wylie Cooper's (Moore) chance encounter with a man who's on the run from some shady corporate criminals and how Cooper's life changes for the better and for the worse after the encounter. The other is set two years later and has to do with American soldier Landry (Murphy) test driving a faulty experimental tank that Cooper had invented and accidentally driving it into the middle of a battlefield. That tank (Cooper building it and Landry using it) is what the two stories have in common. The most major complaint about this film is its constantly shifting from one story to the other thus confusing some viewers. I managed to follow along though and if anybody who's thinking of seeing this one can too, you may find both leading actors in fine form. Just don't expect the comedy sparks of their far more successful individually starring vehicles including "Arthur" and "Beverly Hills Cop."
    helpful•7
    1
    • soranno
    • Oct 28, 2002

    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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