The Rookie (1990)

Clint Eastwood plays a veteran detective who gets stuck with a rookie cop (Charlie Sheen) to chase down a German crook (Raul Julia.)

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Boaz Yakin, Scott Spiegel

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen, Raul Julia

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Nick Pulovski
Charlie Sheen	...	David Ackerman
Raul Julia	...	Strom
Sônia Braga	...	Liesl (as Sonia Braga)
Tom Skerritt	...	Eugene Ackerman
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Sarah
Pepe Serna	...	Lt. Raymond Garcia
Marco Rodríguez	...	Loco Martinez
Pete Randall	...	Cruz
Donna Mitchell	...	Laura Ackerman
Xander Berkeley	...	Ken Blackwell
Tony Plana	...	Morales
David Sherrill	...	Max
Hal Williams	...	Powell
Lloyd Nelson	...	Freeway Motorist

Storyline

Nick Pulovski is a cop, who is presently assigned to the auto theft division and who for the most part of his career has not done anything worthwhile. But when he discovers that a man named Strom is the brains behind a major car theft and chop shop ring, he sees this as his opportunity to do something. After his partner is killed, the case is then transfered to homicide, so he is taken off the case. And he is assigned a new partner, David Ackerman. a cop who has just recently been promoted to detective. But Pulovski feeling as if Strom is his decides to continue pursuing him but Ackerman who tries to play by the rules is not sure what to do, and he is also a little afraid cause of a childhood incident.

---

Plot Keywords:

explosion | woman on top | baggage carousel | pitbull | rottweiler | 

---

Taglines:

What could a veteran and a rookie cop do this Christmas.

---

Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

El principiante

Filming Locations:

Highland Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,510,056, 9 December 1990, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$21,633,874

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Malpaso Productions,Kazanjian/Siebert Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) (4 channels)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the earlier Clint Eastwood film The Enforcer (1976), like in this movie, Dirty Harry (Eastwood) was also partnered with a rookie cop, but not a young man, like Charlie Sheen, but a woman, Kate Moore, played by Tyne Daly.

---

Goofs

When Nick Pulovski (Clint Eastwood) is showing his partner, David Ackerman (Charlie Sheen), his collection of motorcycles, Ackerman says of the one bike that it is "a 1967 Triumph TR6". A Triumph TR6 is a sports car, not a motorbike.

---

Quotes

Morales: [to David Ackerman] I saw you die.
Nick Pulovski: Well, welcome to Hell!

---

Alternate Versions

The Australian television version was inconsistently edited for sexual and violent content. The scene between Liesl and Pulovski ends after she explains the purpose of the bullet she wears, yet the full sequence is shown on the video screen later when Ackerman rescues Pulovski. All sequences of 'three bullet death', such as Sarah killing Loco and the "Amateur" shootings of Ackerman and Liesl are reduced to one bullet. The final shooting of Strom is heard but not shown.

---

Connections

References Dirty Harry (1971)

---

Soundtracks

Red Zone
Written by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens

User Reviews

Terrible, terrible, terrible

There is simply no excuse for how bad this movie is. It would have to rate as one of the worst of all time. It is so bad, in fact, it is almost - but not - laughable. The fact that it has a relatively accomplished cast makes this all the more diappointing. Raul Julia as a German! That's just the start. Clint Eastwood's grip on police reality is completely gone here, and Charlie Sheen is just way out of his depth as a tormented rookie cop. Plus a sex interest that ain't sexy and you wind up with 0. Which is almost what I gave this film. Whatever you do, DO NOT put yourself through the torture of watching this movie - I was begging for the end after 20 mins!