A rousing star turn by Clint Eastwood, in his badass prime as a seen-it-all Polish-American cop showing a new recruit (Charlie Sheen, not really "winning" nor losing here, just doing his usual young-upstart-with-a-chip-on-his-shoulder thing) the ropes, is the main attraction in The Rookie (1990, Clint Eastwood) (second viewing). Auteurist fans of Eastwood's remarkably assured directing career should note that this is the last behind-the-camera gig he completed before taking the reins on his masterpiece Unforgiven. As such, it's no surprise that Eastwood and director of photography Jack Green's keen sense of visual composition bolster the formulaic if highly entertaining cop-movie proceedings, but on the other hand, it's a huge surprise that Eastwood would tackle a movie with no ambition other than offering the audience a good time right before making the thematically dense film that would alter critical and Academy perception of him for all time.
But, regardless of historical context, The Rookie delivers on that promise of a good time. Eastwood isn't entirely at home staging scenes of hand-to-hand combat (the editing gets uncharacteristically choppy and blurry when characters engage in fisticuffs), but he starts the movie off with a beautifully choreographed freeway chase that gets the pulse quickening right off the bat. If the pulse rate slows here and there as the movie goes on, it's because a genre flick this basic doesn't need a full two hours to unfold. But that generous running time does allow for plenty of satisfying, hard-R action, a number of priceless one-liners barked out by the craggy Clint, and some deliciously over-the-top sneering from Raul Julia as the villain--enough to make this particular day. Grade: B
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