The Rookie

It’s easy to see why this cross-generational star vehicle ran out of gas so early in its theatrical run. The story in The Rookie is strictly a retread. One more time, Clint Eastwood plays a tough cop who lets his pistol do most of the talking. Charlie Sheen portrays his rookie partner, and they’re on the trail of big-time auto thieves. Sheen wants to show that he can cut it as a cop, while Eastwood wants to prove he can crack a major case after a career of small ones. This is a standard buddy-cop movie, full of go-through-the-motions performances. Director Eastwood puts some punch into the action scenes, but Rookie is about as tired and predictable as old movie ideas get. C+