This is Arnie's favourite amongst his movies, or so he claims. I wonder if that answer is the politician talking. It's good but not great and certainly not in the class of Terminator or Predator. But Kudos to the big man for pushing himself as an actor. He didn't stick in his wheelhouse and just do action movies. Here he plays with his tough guy image, something that in fact poses a problem, tonally speaking, for the movie and a potential audience.
The opening scenes involve a criminal, a killing, a crack den (or suchlike), a police line-up, and as such are almost cartoonish in their imitation of such things were they to be in an out-and-out noir drama. The music is all over the place, intrusive, over written and then back to being discreet, background stuff. Things improve markedly when Arnie begins his assignment undercover alongside Pamela Reed. She has great comedic timing, as does he. In a way, Arnie got lucky. Think of someone like John Wayne. He wanted to branch out, play roles beyond the typecasted cowboy horse operas, but he didn't get the chance. Arnie took his chance and did well, or well enough, making fun of his immense physical stature. The contrast between him and the tiny kindergarten tots is pretty funny.
All the same, this is a fairly dark film, too much so for the under tens. It's sweet, it's comedic, it's full of contrived pratfalls, and it is very contrived generally, but it's also very sweet and the well acted by all the women surrounding the big man. That's another point. This is a movie, so to speak, on gynocentric territory, and tough guy Arnie is under inspection, and loving the work. In a way, it's a bit like Terminator 2. The most unexpected and most suitable guardian drops in out of the blue and makes himself indispensible.
Not a work of genius, but still a work of immense charm. An ood-couple meets beauty and the beast sort of amalgam-type-thing.
The opening scenes involve a criminal, a killing, a crack den (or suchlike), a police line-up, and as such are almost cartoonish in their imitation of such things were they to be in an out-and-out noir drama. The music is all over the place, intrusive, over written and then back to being discreet, background stuff. Things improve markedly when Arnie begins his assignment undercover alongside Pamela Reed. She has great comedic timing, as does he. In a way, Arnie got lucky. Think of someone like John Wayne. He wanted to branch out, play roles beyond the typecasted cowboy horse operas, but he didn't get the chance. Arnie took his chance and did well, or well enough, making fun of his immense physical stature. The contrast between him and the tiny kindergarten tots is pretty funny.
All the same, this is a fairly dark film, too much so for the under tens. It's sweet, it's comedic, it's full of contrived pratfalls, and it is very contrived generally, but it's also very sweet and the well acted by all the women surrounding the big man. That's another point. This is a movie, so to speak, on gynocentric territory, and tough guy Arnie is under inspection, and loving the work. In a way, it's a bit like Terminator 2. The most unexpected and most suitable guardian drops in out of the blue and makes himself indispensible.
Not a work of genius, but still a work of immense charm. An ood-couple meets beauty and the beast sort of amalgam-type-thing.