44
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63Miami HeraldBill CosfordMiami HeraldBill CosfordIt helps that Raw Deal works, for a time at least, as a first-rate cop movie. It is violent to excess -- more graphic by far than Stallone's films, and bloodier, too -- but it's a real movie. [07 June 1986, p.D1]
- 60The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyThough the language is vulgar, the macho posturing absurd and some of the plotting inscrutable, Raw Deal has a kind of seemliness to it. It delivers every punch it promises.
- 60Los Angeles TimesSheila BensonLos Angeles TimesSheila BensonJohn Irvin has a nice eye for irony and for the larger- (and funnier-) than-life trappings of the genre. He doesn't have enormous opportunities to exercise this bent, since Raw Deal is constructed like a serial bomb: It goes off roughly every 12 1/2 minutes, littering the landscape with corpses. But you can detect an adult hand at work here, which could never be said for Cobra's arrogant and inept childishness.
- 50Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyRaw Deal is not as reactionary as Cobra but it's just as violent, maybe even bloodier, with its graphic gun fights and bullet-spattered, shattered bodies blasted before our eyes. Still it's also a quality project -- the look and sound of the film are first rate.
- 50Washington PostPaul AttanasioWashington PostPaul AttanasioA mostly tedious, cheaply made shoot-'em-up from the always classy Dino De Laurentiis. [07 June 1986, p.D5]
- 40EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasA sadly lightweight spar through rule-breaking cop conventions that doesn't utilise it's star's bulk to any great effect.
- 40TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineJohn Irvin's direction is rudimentary for an action film and adds little excitement to the proceedings. There's not much suspense, with good guys and bad guys clearly drawn, and the final shootout is all too routine.
- 38Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertYou want to see guys with muscles shooting machineguns at guys without muscles? These are the movies for you. You have more than muscles between your ears? Try something else.
- 25Chicago TribuneGene SiskelChicago TribuneGene SiskelThe film's biggest continuing laugh is the very idea that Arnold Schwarzenegger, with his thick accent, could infiltrate the upper echelon of the Mafia. I could see him catering a German mob dinner, but a trusted ally? Never.