In The Rookie Clint Eastwood plays a veteran detective working in the highly unglamorous unit of automobile crimes. He's got a lead on a major chop shop operation in Los Angeles headed by an international criminal Raul Julia and his killer girl Friday Sonia Bragga. When partner Hal Williams is killed right at the beginning of the film, Eastwood makes getting Julia a personal crusade.
But in the meantime Eastwood's boss Lieutenant Pepe Serna has given him a new partner, rookie Charlie Sheen. Sheen's a rich kid who decided on the life of a police officer as a show of rebellion against his father Tom Sizemore. And the dangerous life of a cop has girl friend Lara Flynn Boyle concerned.
Sheen's one major screw up and he screws up big time when Julia and Bragga turn the tables during a bust and take Eastwood hostage and leave Sheen for dead. After that Sheen magically transforms himself into Rambo and the film takes on a non-stop Indiana Jones like quality in terms of action.
The Rookie is not the kind of film you should not take too seriously, the various players look they're having one great old time in delivering some really hokey dialog. Eastwood in particular with that ever present cigar in his mouth never cracking a smile.
The action sequences are well staged especially that final chase through the LAX Airport. Most unforgettable in this film is Sonia Bragga, one ice cold German princess, no doubt descendant from some concentration camp matron. Her 'rape' scene of Eastwood is something else. Talk about performance anxiety, YEEEEEEEEEEEESH.
The Rookie is not ever going to be one of the top ten of Clint Eastwood's films, but it's certainly entertaining and enjoyable.
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