UNLIMITED STREAMING
WITH PRIME VIDEO
TRY 30-DAY TRIAL
Home > Action >

Raw Deal

Raw Deal (1986)

June. 06,1986
|
5.6
|
R
| Action Thriller Crime

Mark Kaminsky is kicked out of the FBI for his rough treatment of a suspect. He winds up as the sheriff of a small town in North Carolina. FBI Chief Harry Shannon, whose son has been killed by a mobster named Patrovina, enlists Kaminsky in a personal vendetta with a promise of reinstatement into the FBI if Patrovina is taken down. To accomplish this, he must go undercover and join Patrovina's gang.

...

Watch Trailer

Cast

Similar titles

Reviews

Perry Kate
1986/06/06

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

More
Marketic
1986/06/07

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

More
VeteranLight
1986/06/08

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

More
Bob
1986/06/09

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

More
TheLittleSongbird
1986/06/10

'Raw Deal' is for me somewhat of a tough film to rate and review. It is not a great, or even a good, film and is as close to ridiculous as Arnold Schwarznegger films get. At the same time, it's difficult to be too hard on 'Raw Deal' because there is some entertainment value.Let's start with the good things. Schwarznegger is not the greatest of actors and never has been, but he has always had a hugely charismatic screen presence, a larger-than-life likability and a knack for action sequences. One gets all of this from his performance in 'Raw Deal', even with some expressionless and moments where he does struggle with lines he is immensely watchable and it is very vintage Schwarznegger. Generally it is the cast that come off best. Robert Davi is a rightly hiss-able bad guy and Kathryn Harrold has charm and sass. Sam Wanamaker and Paul Shenar make much of relatively little, they bring colourful menace to their stereotypical roles despite (particularly Shenar) being underused.There are a few fun one-liners here and there and some excitement in the action. Can't say that on the whole as individual components the script and action were great, but the entertainment was there. The soundtrack is cool too and the scenery has atmosphere.On the other hand, the story is not just ridiculous (even by Schwarznegger film standards) and generic but has too many scenes that feel like filler and either drag the story out or confuse it. A few nice one-liners here and there, but the script is quite weak and there is a lot of unintentional humour and next to no care developing the characters in a film littered with stereotypes (only Kaminski has any kind of development).Action-wise, 'Raw Deal' is hardly amateurish and has some exciting moments but too much of it is too routine and a huge amount of suspension of disbelief is needed. Although the ending is certainly memorable, more so than most of the stuff before it, it's for all the wrong reasons. Visually, it has a low-budget made-for-TV-production-like look to it. Ed Lauter is pretty wasted and while the direction is competent it's never more than that.In conclusion, watchable but doesn't feel cooked all the way through. 5/10 Bethany Cox

More
medelste
1986/06/11

Growing up in the 70s and 80s, we never missed an Arnold premiere after Terminator in 1984. His ouvre runs the gamut from good (Predator) to great (T2) to bad (Commando, although I know this cartoon has its admirers) to good silly fun (Running Man). But Raw Deal was one that fell through the cracks over the past thirty years -- I saw it in the theater and then never again, until Starz Action ran it a few months ago. To my surprise, I found myself really enjoying this film. Arnold's acting is horrocious, granted. But as others have mentioned, the rest of the cast is a fabulous tour through 70s/80s tough-guy action heaven. Besides the obvious stars (McGavin, Wanamaker, Davi, Shenar), the backups/extras in Raw Deal read like an anonymous thugazoid 80s highlight reel. There's Sven from Running Man, plus several others from Die Hard and even Action Jackson.One other thing -- I LOVE LOVE LOVE Kathryn Harrold in this film. Just watching her is a pleasure. What I wouldn't give for a time machine, so I could go back and run my hands through that wild 80s hairdo! Kathryn, I know you're in your 60s by now. But if you're reading this, rest assured that I'm still a fan.

More
OllieSuave-007
1986/06/12

Another action flick starring Arnold Scharzenegger, where he plays former FBI agent Mark Kaminsky, now a small town sheriff in North Carolina. He is enlisted by FBI Chief Harry Shannon (Darren McGavin) to help avenge his son's death by going undercover in mobster Patrovina's gang to take them down, in exchange for Kaminsky's reinstatement in the FBI. This movie title, unfortunately, says it all. This is a film that is basically all talk with very limited action, which makes the plot go at a slow pace; it almost seems the filmmakers were trying to give this flick a Godfather feel to it with its overly preachy mobster scenes. There is hardly any suspense or tense moments and even Arnold's one-liners were scarce. The acting, however, was OK and I think Arnold pulled off the best he can in this otherwise lackluster movie. Darren McGavin played a heartfelt role as the FBI Chief.Overall, not an exciting action movie and not one of the better ones starring Arnold.Grade D+

More
pesic-1
1986/06/13

Arnold can play fantasy/cartoon characters. He cannot pull off regular guys or roles that demand he actually talks, rather than just recite one-liners. It was painfully obvious that this was not a role for him. There is too little action for him to be in his element. You can't stuff this giant in a suit and parade him like a gangster. What would be the point of having Arnold play this role anyway? He can't act, he looks awkward, and he doesn't get to use his muscles. You do not need Mister Universe to play this role, it is plain si mple. The unfortunate decision to use Arnie results in making this already poorly written film an even worse film than it would have been had they cast a better actor. Arnie should stick to playing robots, mythical axe-wielding savages, and commandos that throw people around and blow up every set in the film. And he should never have to say more than three sentences in a row.Oh, I forgot about the plot of "Raw Deal". There is virtually no plot.Zero for effort.

More