The film was released on July 20, 1984, grossing a total of $19 million at the box office, and received negative reviews from critics.

The film takes place as two parallel plots separated by a couple of years: In 1982, Wylie Cooper (Moore) is an engineer developing a targeting system on a tank for the United States Army.

Because of the tank's poor design and shoddy construction, Landry and his crew are barely able to control or navigate the XM-10 before it leaves the proving grounds and wanders into a combat zone during Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Holtzman, fearful of what will happen in his meeting with Jeff (Rasche), a deep-cover KGB agent, secretly hides the plans in Cooper's briefcase.

Realizing his mortality while being put on an ambulance, Cooper confesses to Clair (Shaver), an attractive co-worker, that he stole the DYP.

This triggers an angry response from Clair and also from his wife Laura (Capshaw) who, arriving on the scene, realizes that Cooper has been cheating on her.

The film reaches its climax in a sequence weaving between 1982 when a more conscientious Cooper, having recovered, confronts his employers about the flaws in the DYP, while in 1984, Landry attempts to fire the main gun while under attack by an Iraqi gunship.

Murphy's part was almost completely unconnected from the rest of the film, and his character never even comes into contact with any of the main cast.

On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 29 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

[9] Footage of David Rasche from this film was successfully used as a screen test for his lead role in the 1986 comedy TV series Sledge Hammer!