Raw Deal (1986) DEG/Action RT: 106 minutes Rated R (language, strong violence, sexual content, drugs) Director: John Irvin Screenplay: Gary DeVore and Norman Wexler Music: Chris Boardman Cinematography: Alex Thomson Release date: June 6, 1986 (US) Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold, Darren McGavin, Sam Wanamaker, Paul Shenar, Steven Hill, Ed Lauter, Joe Regalbuto, Robert Davi, Blanche Baker, Mordecai Lawner. Box Office: $16.2M (US)
Rating: ***
The Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Raw Deal holds the distinction of being the first film from DEG (De Laurentiis Entertainment Group), the studio formed by uber-producer Dino De Laurentiis after his acquisition of Embassy Pictures the previous year. It was a short-lived business venture consisting of one flop after another- e.g. Tai-Pan, King Kong Lives, Million Dollar Mystery and Date with an Angel (their final release). Even great movies like Manhunter and Blue Velvet did a nose dive at the box office. He finally declared bankruptcy in ’89. Why am I telling you this? I dunno. I guess I can’t come up with a better way to start this review.
Directed by John Irvin (The Dogs of War), Raw Deal isn’t as well known as other Ah-nuld actioners like The Terminator, Commando and Predator. It went mostly unnoticed when it played in theaters in early summer ’86. No, it isn’t as good as the movies I mentioned and a few others. I’d say it’s more along the lines of a passable Saturday night action flick with the guys. It provides plenty in the way of action, but little in the way of an original plot. We’ve seen it all before. To its credit, it’s neither more nor less silly than the action star’s other movies.
Schwarzenegger stars Kaminsky, a former FBI agent now working as a small-town sheriff after being forced out by an ambitious prosecutor (Regalbuto, The Star Chamber) for brutally beating a child killer. He’s given a chance at reinstatement by a former colleague Harry Shannon (McGavin, A Christmas Story) whose son was one of the agents killed by a hit squad while guarding a federal witness against Chicago mob boss Patrovita (Wanamaker, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace). Shannon wants to recruit Kaminsky for an off-the books assignment. He wants him to infiltrate the Mob and kill those responsible for his son’s death, Patrovita and right-hand man Rocca (Shenar, Scarface).
After faking his death in an explosion, Kaminsky assumes a new identity, Joseph P. Brenner, and proceeds to make a name for himself by making life hell for Patrovita’s main business rival, Lamanski (Hill, Law & Order). It gets him noticed alright. Impressed with his work, Rocca brings Brenner in on a trial basis. As per usual, not everybody trusts the new guy. In Raw Deal, it’s Max (Davi, Die Hard), one of Patrovita’s top lieutenants. He’s determined to prove Brenner isn’t who he says he is.
From here on in, we get the usual plot elements. Brenner finds an ally in Monique (Harrold, The Sender), a compulsive gambler who reports back to Max on anything she learns about the new guy. The prosecutor who pushed Kaminsky out of the agency has moved up in the world. He now heads up a special committee investigating organized crime. He’s especially interested in the dealings of Patrovita. A tough city cop, Baker (Lauter, Death Wish 3), pops up every now and then. Also, there’s a leak within the department. Somebody in a high position is feeding information to the Mob. It really isn’t too hard to figure out who the leak is.
All in all, Raw Deal is a decent action picture. Schwarzenegger gets plenty of opportunities to flex his muscles and beat the stuffing out of bad guys who think they’re tough enough to take him on. The ever reliable strong man never once shirks his duties in this area. In one scene, he effortlessly throws a grown man over a ceiling beam. He takes down three opponents in a mall department store with equal ease, nearly destroying the place in the process, of course. BTW, I’d sure like to know why passers-by keep passing by the fracas. They don’t even seem to take notice when he throws one of the goons through a plate glass window. Are Chicagoans taught from birth not to pay attention to such things? Maybe they’re not that different from New Yorkers after all.
To his credit, Schwarzenegger plays a character that’s somewhat more intelligent than he’s used to. It’s Brenner who comes up with the plan to retrieve $100 million in cash and smack from a police station. If only the script was as smart. Get this, the writers expect us to buy the idea of Brenner infiltrating the Mob without attracting the notice of the leak. The leak appears to know everything that’s going on within the Mob. The leak would be able to identify Brenner/Kaminsky as a cop right away. Here’s another gap in logic. Why would Brenner break cover to tell Monique he’s married? Does he really trust her that much or is he just out of practice? Either way, it’s a dumb move. There are other plot holes, but why dwell on it?
I like Schwarzenegger and I like his movies. As an action star, he’s great. Whenever his name appears above the title, you know he’ll bring on the action in a big way. As an actor, he’s not as strong. He can’t seem to shed the Schwarzenegger image even in dramatic scenes like his interaction with his angry wife (Baker, 16 Candles), resentful of the life she’s had since he left the FBI. When she throws a cake at her, he quips, “You should not drink and bake.” Oddly enough, he never at any point says “I’ll be back.”
The supporting cast is quite good. Wanamaker makes a perfectly detestable villain. Shenar excels at playing slimeball bad guys. I wish Lauter, one of my favorite character actors, had a little more screen time. McGavin adds a bit of gravitas as a grieving dad looking for justice. On the other hand, Hill isn’t the least bit convincing as a tough mob boss. He sounds too much like a wimp.
The action scenes in Raw Deal are well done; particularly, the scene in the gravel pit where Brenner shows up in a convertible with machine guns blazing to take care of some of Patrovita’s guys while “Satisfaction” plays over the soundtrack.
Although it lacks the momentum of other Ah-nuld titles, Raw Deal is still a nice fix for action junkies. It has more than its fair share of shooting and fighting and a cool car chase to boot. The star amasses a fairly high body count. It helps that Irvin is well-acquainted with the genre. You won’t get a raw deal from Raw Deal.
