Raw Deal
                                                                                                                         
Director: John Irvin
Year: 1986
Rating: 6.0
For all the poor reviews this got upon its release, the film is a decent action film with a great bloody finale and a few chases and shootouts along the way. But why is it starring Arnold Schwarzenegger? There is nothing particularly Arnold about it. It could have been many actors playing the role and probably playing it better. This is no surprise when you realize the script was written by two Italians and has all the trademarks of a Poliziotteschi with Franco Nero or Luc Merenda in Schwarzenegger's role. They certainly could have done the dramatic scenes with something besides a blank face. Watching him try and be charming with a woman just makes you uncomfortable. This comes between the two classics, Commando and Predator, and has rightfully been pushed aside. But again , it is a solid B film but no more than that.



Kaminsky (Arnold) is a disgraced ex FBI agent, though we never really find out why, who is now sheriff in a small community with an unhappy bitching cake throwing wife and not many bad guys to catch. In the original script, his wife cheats on him but Arnold had them change that because no woman would ever cheat on him. There is a nice chase in there when he goes after a man on a motorcycle. The film begins though with a witness in a safe house being killed along with the security. One of those was the son of FBI agent Shannon (Darren McGavin), an old friend of Kaminsky's. Shannon goes to Kaminsky and asks him to infiltrate an organized crime gang under Patrovita (Sam Wanamaker) in Chicago. Kaminsky agrees mainly to get away from his wife.



In Chicago he causes trouble; destroying a gambling casino of a Patrovita competitor (Steven Hill) by driving a truck through it. Subtle he isn't. But Patrovita and his enforcer (Robert Davi) take him on. Kaminsky romances a woman (Kathryn Harrold) but of course won't jump her bones as much as she wants him to because Arnold would never cheat on his wife. There is absolutely no point to this whole subplot. Finally, Kaminsky puts down his long cigars and in a gun porn scene gets ready to bring them all down. And this part is good. Ridiculous that mobsters can't aim, but its good.