The Dirty Harry Film Series

"Magnum Force," Clint Eastwood's sophomore outing as "Dirty Harry" Callahan, succeeds in giving us violence, funny lines from Harry and even in showing a more human side to the tough cop. But the movie fails in a crucial area: it lacks the unrelenting suspense and pace of its predecessor, and gives us villains who are not nearly as chilling or memorable.

This time, Harry is called upon to investigate a series of murders in which all of the victims are known criminals. It begins with the slaying of a mob figure who beats a murder rap. From the beginning, the movie tells us that the slayings are being carried out by policemen, and (potential spoiler warning) the killers turn out to be a squad of sharp-shooting rookies trying to take back the city by drastically reducing the courts' case load.

The story takes its time to get moving, and there are some pointless scenes (like one involving an airplane hijacker) that only get in the way of the main plot. The original "Dirty Harry" hooked us right from the opening scene and never let up. It was also rather different in the way it portrayed the character of Harry. In the first movie, he had no problems with shooting first, reading rights later, and so it may seem strange that he would object to the idea of police who carry out justice in their own way.

The difference is that the criminals being killed in this movie are not in the midst of performing acts of violence when they are killed (with the exception of one nasty scene in which a pimp pours Draino down a hooker's throat). The script by John Milius tries to present an interesting contrast between Harry and the rookie cops who presumably represent his darker side (there's one scene where they're even filmed in the shadows when confronting Harry in a parking garage), the line that he won't cross. But the violence and action sequences pretty much hamper the film's attempts at providing a thought-provoking story.

The rookie cops are not especially well developed as characters; the most interesting is the one played by David Soul (of "Starsky and Hutch") who bests Harry in a shooting competition. This could have set the stage for a really tense final showdown, but that's an opportunity the movie misses.

The movie also gives us a look at Harry's personal life. He has a tryst with a young woman who lives in his apartment building, and another character, whose husband has worked with Harry for years and now seems to be losing his marbles, has an unrequited attraction to Harry. Again, these scenes only get in the way of the main plotline. Do we really need to know what Harry does in his off time?

"Magnum Force" will certainly appeal to fans of Eastwood and "Dirty Harry," and Eastwood's charisma helps hold the movie up when it starts to sag. But compared to the original "Dirty Harry," it's disappointing and not as memorable but still like I said before its worth a look for Eastwood and Dirty Harry fans.

Buddy Van Horn's "The Dead pool" was the fifth Harry Callahan movie and last part of the beloved action thriller series. I've always had huge troubles of actually deciding which one of the four sequels of the original "Dirty Harry" (1971) is the very best and which one's the worst because I sort of like 'em all. Of course the easiest solution would be to simply claim that every new sequel was a bit worse than the previous since even Clint himself confessed that perhaps he made couple of Harry Callahan films too many.

Well, he was only 41 years old in the first Harry flick and 58 in this so that should tell something. Only reason to shoot "The Dead pool" was the regrettable fact that "Bird" (1988), Eastwood's own direction and most personal work about the jazz legend Charlie Parker he adored, turned out to be a flop and Clint had to do a movie that would be a reliable, certain commercial success. When he took up his good old .44 Magnum for the fifth time everybody knew that this movie would be a definite hit.

But I just can't help it, I know what I like and I like "The Dead pool". Jim Carrey is quite fabulous in his small yet important role of a drug addicted heavy rock star Johnny Squares. Music video scene (with outstanding Guns n' Roses song "Welcome to the jungle" on the background) is one of my absolute favorite moments of the film. It's interesting to observe how Jim has his gestures, expressions and mannerisms several years before his breakthrough and even in the more "serious" role.

By the way, note to rock fans, have you noticed that all the members of Guns n' Roses' 1988 line-up are guests in the funeral of Johnny Squares? I know we've seen all the important there is to see about Harry Callahan in the first four movies. "The Dead pool" only rides in the charisma and popularity of Eastwood's famous macho character but it's still an excellent and enjoyable film so it just doesn't matter to me. It includes good traditional action, nice amusing characters and various legendary Harry Callahan one-liners like "Swell", "Marvelous" and "You're s*** out of luck" and it entertains anyone who loves Eastwood.