The Rookie is a 1990 American buddy cop action film directed by Clint Eastwood and produced by Howard G. Kazanjian, Steven Siebert and David Valdes. It was written from a screenplay conceived by Boaz Yakin and Scott Spiegel. The film stars Charlie Sheen, Clint Eastwood, Raul Julia, Sônia Braga, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Tom Skerritt. Eastwood plays a veteran police officer teamed up with a younger detective played by Sheen (the rookie), whose intent is to take down a German crime lord in downtown Los Angeles, following months of investigation into an exotic car theft ring. The Rookie premiered in the United States and Canada on December 7, 1990, grossing $21,633,874 in ticket receipts, just under its budget of $30 million. The film was overshadowed by the continuing success of Home Alone, which opened three weeks earlier and ended up being one of the top 100 highest-grossing films of all time. A financial disappointment, The Rookie was met with generally lackluster reviews. Critics considered it formulaic and shallow, and expressed bewilderment at the casting of the Puerto Rican Julia and the Brazilian Braga as Germans; a scene in which Eastwood is raped by Braga also generated some controversy. There was, however, some praise for the stunts and special effects. Plot Nick Pulovski and his partner are assigned to the case of taking down the criminal empire of a German felon, Strom, who engages in grand theft auto for his chop shop operations. During an encounter with Strom and his men, who are loading a semi-trailer truck with stolen cars, Pulovski's partner is shot dead by Strom. Nick, despite efforts to catch the criminals on the highway, ends up losing them and is subsequently taken off the case by Lt. Raymond Garcia, who assigns him a new partner, David Ackerman, a rookie cop only recently promoted to detective. Against orders, Nick continues investigating Strom's gang and dealing with David's lack of experience, particularly a bar brawl during which David's badge is stolen by one of Strom's men, Loco. While attending the birthday party of David's mother, Nick meets David's wealthy father, Eugene, who attempts to bribe Nick to protect David no matter what. Nick threatens one of Strom's men, Morales, into helping him. Morales manages to plant a two-way radio inside Strom's house, but he is found out and killed by Strom and his lover, Liesl. While listening in on Strom's