Released in 1990 to dismal reviews and not much commercial success, Clint Eastwood's The Rookie is his last true slam-bang action movie, a mean-spirited, glossy, and badass motherfucker of a movie. You can tell Eastwood is doing one for the team, but he's crusty as ever, and titular whipper-snapper Charlie Sheen is still riding high on his street cred. Raul Julia and Sonia Braga are better than they have any right to be as a pair of sadistic Germans (!!!) leading an auto-theft ring.
Go to the B Action Movie Thread and you'll find yourself thrust into many posts about the film's ardent defenders and dedicated opposition. Rene and I teamed up on a blog entry months ago called CLINTPLOITATION! (sigged here) and we both wrote a couple of pieces on it. Here they are:
Rene's Take:
The Rookie features a "Harry Callahan" esque character named Nick Pulovski, who takes under his wing a young detective named David Ackerman. They decide to take down a chop shop ring led by Raul Julia and Sonia Braga. I think I forgot to mention that they're playing GERMANS. Yes, Raul Julia from Puerto Rico, and Sonia Braga from Brazil play characters named Strom and Liesl. A lot of people peg that as a fault, but I think that's one of it's strengths. Not a lot of movies have the balls to put to Hispanic actors to play Germans. As my Dad told me when I saw the movie with him way back when, "There's Germans that look like them."
The one scene that most people tend to remember from it is when Sonia Braga rapes Clint. She's got him handcuffed to a chair, and then she proceeds to straddle him while making him bite on a bullet that she has around his neck. The scene is obviously not erotic, and it isn't played for laughs, but this seems to be the ultimate bit of CLINTPLOITATION. After all the sleaze that's come before, Clint closes it out with having a woman RAPE HIM. That takes a lot of guts for an established film actor to do that to himself on film.
The movie also has a who's who of character actors. Xander Berkley, Marco Rodriguez, Tony Plana, and Pepe Serna. Tom Skeritt and Lara Flynn Boyle even show up. The explosions and action are big and fast. Nothing is sacred. CHARLIE SHEEN SHOOTS A DOG! He also shoots Sonia Braga in the head. Marco Rodriguez has a knockdown drag out fight with Lara Flynn Boyle. The music score is some Latin tinged greatness, and Paul Ben-Victor gets hung on a coat rack. This movie is 100% certified GRADE A FABULOUS. If you want to see Clint and Charlie Sheen drive a Mercedes out a building that blows up as they do it. See this movie. If you want to see Charlie Sheen say "And I hate the way you drive, and I hate your fucking whiskey breath!" see this movie. It just may change your life.
My Take:
If you’ve read the B Action thread in-depth, you’ve probably gathered that The Rookie is an issue of ethics—it’s a sensitive ethical topic you either support or oppose. But to hell with the semantics of a frivolous debate, The Rookie is a truly distinct beast in Clint Eastwood’s long career. Joel Silver, producer of Predator, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, and of course, Action Jackson, had a distinctive style to his productions that was seeping into other films, and The Rookie is Eastwood’s Joel Silver production, even without the bearded wonder producing—mean spirited, violent, and 100 percent pure excess. It’s essentially the sixth Dirty Harry entry—angry L.A. detective Nick Pulovski gets thrown off the case of busting an auto theft ring led by the eeeeeeevillllllll German criminal lover duo Strom (Raul Julia) and Liesl (Sonia Braga). Pulovski gets a new partner in young whipper-snapper David Ackerman (Carlos Irwin “Charlie Sheen” Estevez), and Ackerman of course falls prey to Pulovski’s obsession with making sure another Kiss of the Spider Woman reunion ever happens again.
Made presumably to get the sorely underrated White Hunter Black Heart financed by Warner Bros., The Rookie is Clint’s last exploitation-y vehicle before he started winning a ton of Oscars. If Unforgiven was the last Eastwood Western, then The Rookie is pretty much Eastwood’s swan song from exploitation and cheap thrills. Owen Gleiberman called it “a series of garish exploitation set pieces jammed into the shape of a buddy movie” when it was first released. He meant this as a con, but it’s a pro. The Rookie shouldn’t be the giant blast of fun it is, we’ve seen this plot, what, 962 times before? However, Eastwood and Sheen have killer banter between them, and Julia (gone too soon is an understatement) and Braga are delectable scenery chewers as the bad guys. The violence borders on ridiculous—no squib is left without exploding in all its viscous Karo syrup glory,
What makes this true Clintploitation, however, is the screenplay, written by Evil Dead II co-writer Scott Spiegel and Boaz Yakin, who wrote the Dolph Lundgren Punisher movie, and that should be a good indication that sleaze and down n'dirty badassery ain't out of the question. As perhaps an act of irony, karma, or reverse psychology, Eastwood is the rape victim here at the hands of the hot as hell Braga, but it’d be too easy to let him enjoy it because Eastwood as a cop operates on two modes: glower and glower harder. Tom Skerritt makes an appearance as David’s slimy dad, whose attempted bribery of Pulovski ends in a priceless zing only Eastwood could deliver so perfectly: “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster!” I could go on all day about the one-liners on display here: when a thug remarks that he thought David was dead, Pulovski remarks before capping him, “Well, welcome to hell!” Again, say this in your best Clint Eastwood sneering voice. Perhaps the best line, though, is a bloodied, angry Pulovski towering over the equally injured Strom with this amazing quote:
There's gotta be a hundred reasons why I don't blow you away. Right now I can't think of one. *BLAM*
Or this beautifully written diatribe that Pulovski sneers towards a useless newswoman:
Well, that's right, ma'am. I realize that homicides and splashy robberies get most of the headlines, but it's about time this crime gets the attention it deserves. It's impossible to make a real dent. But it is possible to hurt individual assholes who fuck it up for everyone. Now, I happen to know of a prick that's responsible for the whole fucking operation, and that son of bitch is hurting out there, and I'm fucking liking it.
I’d write a closing paragraph, but saying The Rookie is the reason why we celebrate Thanksgiving is more concise and less wordy.
In my dorm room hangs an original, folded, double-sided poster for this movie.
Nick professed his love in the first B Action podcast.
It got plenty of lovin' as Movie of the Day.
And now, those of you who haven't seen it or need to reappraise it, do so and start experiencing the benefits of TEAM ROOKIE.
And if you haven't seen it, I'll say it straight. It's not just a job...
IT'S A FUCKING ADVENTURRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEE!
Go to the B Action Movie Thread and you'll find yourself thrust into many posts about the film's ardent defenders and dedicated opposition. Rene and I teamed up on a blog entry months ago called CLINTPLOITATION! (sigged here) and we both wrote a couple of pieces on it. Here they are:
Rene's Take:
The Rookie features a "Harry Callahan" esque character named Nick Pulovski, who takes under his wing a young detective named David Ackerman. They decide to take down a chop shop ring led by Raul Julia and Sonia Braga. I think I forgot to mention that they're playing GERMANS. Yes, Raul Julia from Puerto Rico, and Sonia Braga from Brazil play characters named Strom and Liesl. A lot of people peg that as a fault, but I think that's one of it's strengths. Not a lot of movies have the balls to put to Hispanic actors to play Germans. As my Dad told me when I saw the movie with him way back when, "There's Germans that look like them."
The one scene that most people tend to remember from it is when Sonia Braga rapes Clint. She's got him handcuffed to a chair, and then she proceeds to straddle him while making him bite on a bullet that she has around his neck. The scene is obviously not erotic, and it isn't played for laughs, but this seems to be the ultimate bit of CLINTPLOITATION. After all the sleaze that's come before, Clint closes it out with having a woman RAPE HIM. That takes a lot of guts for an established film actor to do that to himself on film.
The movie also has a who's who of character actors. Xander Berkley, Marco Rodriguez, Tony Plana, and Pepe Serna. Tom Skeritt and Lara Flynn Boyle even show up. The explosions and action are big and fast. Nothing is sacred. CHARLIE SHEEN SHOOTS A DOG! He also shoots Sonia Braga in the head. Marco Rodriguez has a knockdown drag out fight with Lara Flynn Boyle. The music score is some Latin tinged greatness, and Paul Ben-Victor gets hung on a coat rack. This movie is 100% certified GRADE A FABULOUS. If you want to see Clint and Charlie Sheen drive a Mercedes out a building that blows up as they do it. See this movie. If you want to see Charlie Sheen say "And I hate the way you drive, and I hate your fucking whiskey breath!" see this movie. It just may change your life.
My Take:
If you’ve read the B Action thread in-depth, you’ve probably gathered that The Rookie is an issue of ethics—it’s a sensitive ethical topic you either support or oppose. But to hell with the semantics of a frivolous debate, The Rookie is a truly distinct beast in Clint Eastwood’s long career. Joel Silver, producer of Predator, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, and of course, Action Jackson, had a distinctive style to his productions that was seeping into other films, and The Rookie is Eastwood’s Joel Silver production, even without the bearded wonder producing—mean spirited, violent, and 100 percent pure excess. It’s essentially the sixth Dirty Harry entry—angry L.A. detective Nick Pulovski gets thrown off the case of busting an auto theft ring led by the eeeeeeevillllllll German criminal lover duo Strom (Raul Julia) and Liesl (Sonia Braga). Pulovski gets a new partner in young whipper-snapper David Ackerman (Carlos Irwin “Charlie Sheen” Estevez), and Ackerman of course falls prey to Pulovski’s obsession with making sure another Kiss of the Spider Woman reunion ever happens again.
Made presumably to get the sorely underrated White Hunter Black Heart financed by Warner Bros., The Rookie is Clint’s last exploitation-y vehicle before he started winning a ton of Oscars. If Unforgiven was the last Eastwood Western, then The Rookie is pretty much Eastwood’s swan song from exploitation and cheap thrills. Owen Gleiberman called it “a series of garish exploitation set pieces jammed into the shape of a buddy movie” when it was first released. He meant this as a con, but it’s a pro. The Rookie shouldn’t be the giant blast of fun it is, we’ve seen this plot, what, 962 times before? However, Eastwood and Sheen have killer banter between them, and Julia (gone too soon is an understatement) and Braga are delectable scenery chewers as the bad guys. The violence borders on ridiculous—no squib is left without exploding in all its viscous Karo syrup glory,
What makes this true Clintploitation, however, is the screenplay, written by Evil Dead II co-writer Scott Spiegel and Boaz Yakin, who wrote the Dolph Lundgren Punisher movie, and that should be a good indication that sleaze and down n'dirty badassery ain't out of the question. As perhaps an act of irony, karma, or reverse psychology, Eastwood is the rape victim here at the hands of the hot as hell Braga, but it’d be too easy to let him enjoy it because Eastwood as a cop operates on two modes: glower and glower harder. Tom Skerritt makes an appearance as David’s slimy dad, whose attempted bribery of Pulovski ends in a priceless zing only Eastwood could deliver so perfectly: “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster!” I could go on all day about the one-liners on display here: when a thug remarks that he thought David was dead, Pulovski remarks before capping him, “Well, welcome to hell!” Again, say this in your best Clint Eastwood sneering voice. Perhaps the best line, though, is a bloodied, angry Pulovski towering over the equally injured Strom with this amazing quote:
There's gotta be a hundred reasons why I don't blow you away. Right now I can't think of one. *BLAM*
Or this beautifully written diatribe that Pulovski sneers towards a useless newswoman:
Well, that's right, ma'am. I realize that homicides and splashy robberies get most of the headlines, but it's about time this crime gets the attention it deserves. It's impossible to make a real dent. But it is possible to hurt individual assholes who fuck it up for everyone. Now, I happen to know of a prick that's responsible for the whole fucking operation, and that son of bitch is hurting out there, and I'm fucking liking it.
I’d write a closing paragraph, but saying The Rookie is the reason why we celebrate Thanksgiving is more concise and less wordy.
In my dorm room hangs an original, folded, double-sided poster for this movie.
Nick professed his love in the first B Action podcast.
It got plenty of lovin' as Movie of the Day.
And now, those of you who haven't seen it or need to reappraise it, do so and start experiencing the benefits of TEAM ROOKIE.
And if you haven't seen it, I'll say it straight. It's not just a job...
IT'S A FUCKING ADVENTURRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEE!
