Arnold in ‘Raw Deal’ is like Jim Carrey in ‘The Mask’. He is hilarious, he is at his best and he gives a spectacular performance.
June 6, 1986, remains a glorious date for the action moviegoers around the world and especially in America because John Irvin’s wild action-thriller hit the theaters with a blast.
Arnold’s last movie by that time – the ultra-violent (in terms of body count) and extremely funny ‘Commando’ (1985) was still receiving huge applause, when the muscular bodybuilder was entitled to star in another future hit – a fierce actioner with the initial name of ‘Let’s Make A Deal’.
By the time, Arnie was already famous for his undeniable talent for transforming any 2ndrate action flick into an unforgettable, ridiculous experience.
‘Raw Deal’ is one of Arnold’s finest vintage movies and a must-see for every dumb flick lover.
Just look at the tagline – ‘his trigger has all the answers’.
If his trigger has all the answers, I would like to ask it, “tell me, trigger, are there a lot of clichéd movies like this one out there?”
Then, the answer of the trigger would have been “No, mister, only a few”.
And the trigger would be right.
Everybody would have agreed with that.
Despite the fact that the film doubled its budget in the box-office, it still remains a typical 3rd class action movie from the 80’s.
If I were to name some of the funniest action movies ever made, I’d probably start with ‘Raw Deal’.
The writers tried in vain to give complexity to the storyline, involving some political intrigues, blackmail, revenge, etc.
Why?!
We, the Arnold fans don’t want to think while enjoying his movies.
We just strive to have some fun while enjoying the Austrian Oak’s absurd accent, his funny facial expressions, and ‘Aaargh’ sounds while he gives bloody justice.
Let’s head to the synopsis.
Contents
The Plot:
The story revolves around the brutal FBI agent Mark Kaminsky who is forced to stay off duty by his boss five years ago because he has beaten almost to death a suspect in a rape case.
Now, the FBI chief needs his services again and proposes him a raw deal – to infiltrate the headquarters of a mafia organization and assassin a vicious mobster who has killed the FBI chief’s son.
If Kaminsky succeeds in his mission, then he will be again in the FBI.
Cast and Crew:
The Austrian Oak gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Mark Kaminsky.
Among the other famous names in the cast are Robert Davi (‘Die Hard’, License to Kill’) in the role of Max Keller and also the beautiful chicks Kathryn Harold as Monique as well as Blanche Baker who plays Kaminsky’s wife with a drinking problem Amy.
They are both very sexy in the style of the late 80’s.
Thanks to their tender presence, you remember throughout the entire flick that the world has other things to offer than just some good muscular men full of testosterone shooting other bad muscular men full of testosterone.
The movie is directed by the Englishman John Irvin famous for his work on movies such as ‘Next of Kin’ (1989) with Patrick Swayze and the war epic ‘When the Trumpets Fade’ (1998).
Let’s have some fun now!
This is a Funny Action Movie because:
Arnold’s undeniable charisma is present in every second of the movie, even in the scenes in which he doesn’t participate.
He is like Atlas, caring the whole show on his shoulders.
He looks like a terminator, walks like a terminator and talks like one.
It is riveting to see Arnold as a cold-blooded FBI agent with violent methods.
It is reminiscent of watching the good old Clint in “Dirty Harry”, but without the good acting and the classy manners.
A remarkable part is the scene with the shooting in the gravel pit, where Arnold is shooting bad people from all angles with a machine gun while driving a cabrio car, wearing a white tight vest with a black leather jacket on it.
The sleek haircut, the enormous biceps, and the gloomy robotic face make it even funnier.
All this happens while Mark Kaminsky is listening on full volume to the classic killer song ‘Satisfaction’ by the Rolling Stones.
The celebrated “aaargh” which is present in all Arnie’s movies is here as well, every time his life is in danger.
The movie stays true to the genre by offering some hilarious one-liners as well.
I really appreciated the part where Kaminsky’s drunken girlfriend preaches him some moral nonsense and in her anger throws a cake at him.
When Kaminsky avoids it he waits a few seconds and kills her with a tagline -” You should not drink and bake”. Precious!
The ending is epic, absurd and ridiculous, yet super entertaining.
Mark Kaminsky is already in a huge building where all the crime lords are hiding from him and he starts infiltrating the building by shooting everything that moves.
He is half-naked, pumped like hell and kills the bad guys with an expressionless face.
You might consider lowering down the volume during the epic finale because the noise that comes from the gunfire and the explosion is immense and lasts for 15 minutes nonstop.
Sure enough, somehow, Mark Kaminsky disposes of an unlimited amount of ammunitions and he doesn’t receive even a single scratch on his extraordinary muscular body.
He could have done the job by just using gym equipment like dumbbells and bars.
Not to mention the intense old-school music that accompanies Arnold on his killing spree.
It strangely resembles the ‘soundtrack’ of the popular Sega game ‘Super Mario’.
Conclusion:
If there is one movie that encompasses the definition of a funny action movie, that is definitely ‘Raw Deal’.
If there is one actor who is a regular action hall of famer, starring in funny action movies that would undoubtedly be Arnold Schwarzenegger.
‘Raw Deal’ is action-packed, old-school to the bones, funnier than ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ (1993) and to these days, it remains one of Arnold’s most celebrated early action flicks.
In case you have any question, remember – his trigger has all the answers!
Summary
Watching Arnold in ‘Raw Deal’ delivers jaw-dropping entertainment.
It is funny, it is hilarious and it is super action packed.
Definitely not a miss!
What do you think – who has done better funny action movies – Arnold, Sly Stallone or Jean-Claude Van Damme? Please leave me a comment below!