The Rookie

The Rookie (1990)

Runtime: 120 minutes

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Clint, Charlie Sheen, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Lara Flynn Boyle

From: Warner Brothers

OK, I know that I’m a few hours late here. I ended up having a busier Wednesday than I had originally planned.

Here is a movie that has been discussed on various messageboards in the past that I’ve seen (no kidding) and it has really divided a really small segment of the Internet and the general movie-going audience. Some mark out for it and others think it’s crap. When I saw that it was on one of the free Showtime channels Sunday night I had to go and watch it in order to weigh in on my opinion of this motion picture.

To give a brief synopsis, this is one of those buddy cop action/comedies. Clint is a grizzled bitter old veteran cop who gets involved in a case involving chop shops and car theft; it’s ran by a German couple (Julia, Braga). A shootout happens and Clint’s partner dies. He ends up getting partnered with a new cop (Sheen) who has his demons and doesn’t get along with his rich parents due to those demons. They’re an odd couple but as you’d expect they eventually get along and… well, you know.

To give my opinion, I’d say that this movie is more on the bad side than the good. Sure, there are some amusing moments and some decent action scenes and it’s bloody and all. But, the humor isn’t really mixed in well with the serious drama (it’s no Lethal Weapon), a lot of the humor isn’t all that humorous, the first half is a chore to get through (there seems to be entire scenes missing; things move from one spot to another in a rather illogical manner; plus, Sheen acts like such a boob you want Clint to make his day by blowing him away!) and then in the second half Charlie totally changes and suddenly becomes a badass mother… it’s rather preposterous.

Oh, and speaking of that, the movie’s most famous scene. I know it’s a spoiler but if you’re familiar with the film it has to be because of this scene. For reasons that I don’t know even after watching the movie, Clint is put in a compromising position by the villains. He’s tied up and Braga decides to… well, RAPE Clint! I’m not making this up, folks. R-A-P-E, rape. It’s just as uncomfortable seeing on screen as it is describing it here, and I don’t know what the point of it was, either in real life or in the movie’s story. I guess it’s to have a signature moment so that people will remember this 20 years later, but trust me it doesn’t make sense in the plot.

So, this wasn’t totally awful but I’m quite surprised that it has quite a few fervent fans on the Internet. Maybe if you’re a fan of buddy cop movies and/or action mixed with comedy this would appeal to you, but I say that there are many better examples of this to see and view rather than wasting your time with a film that many don’t remember any longer.

I’ll be back Saturday afternoon with a new review.