"Dirty Harry" - Clint Eastwood plays Inspector Harry Callahan who has just been brought in to find a maniacal psycho who is playing as a sniper in San Francisco. Dirty Harry gets all of the dirty jobs and demolishes everything. He even took care of a group of bank robbers while eating a hot dog... He punched out a suicidal man ready to jump off of a building... He then took care of the psycho. "I have the right... to a lawyer!" the weird man screamed. The most powerful handgun in the world, yes. That psycho deserved what was coming to him after taking a school bus hostage... Harry must've made that guy fly ten feet in the air off of that little pier...
"Magnum Force" - A group of vigilantes are cleaning up the streets the old fashioned way, above the law. Well, nobody is above the law except for Dirty Harry. Silly partners always get it. Those rookie cops sure can shoot. "Harry, you shot a good guy... An ok sequel with Clint Eastwood taking care of business once again.
"The Enforcer" - Harry is assigned with his first woman partner. This time a group of protesters who do dastly deeds are threatening the mayor and only he, the Messiah, Dirty Harry can take care of them... The movie is slow and it builds up to a huge climax on Alcatraz Island. A rocket launcher was the perfect choice to take out the main rebel, but poor partner got it once again. Will they ever learn that Lordage doesn't need any partners?
"Sudden Impact" - Grisly murders are taking place all done by the same killer. A woman who is looking for justice takes the law into her own hands. "Go ahead and make my day." Dirty Harry takes care of plenty of garbage in this movie. Watch the end where he comes back to the ferris wheel and then the guy falls onto a unicorn... Ok, but why did Harry let the woman go? Bad Harry.
"The Dead Pool" - Probably the funniest and best movie since the first. Harry investigates murders that are happening on a movie set. A little remote controlled car chases Harry down the streets of San Francisco and Harry spears the bad guy at the end, literally. "Welcome to the jungle!"... If you don't buy this, then you are pure mortal.
The following sets forth brief descriptions of the four sequels ( the review for the original appears in the 30th anniversary DVD edition "DIRTY HARRY" ).
MAGNUM FORCE ( 1973 ) is interesting chiefly for the interplay between Callahan and Lt Briggs ( played by Hal Halbrook ).There is, as one would expect, a lot of action but of a routine and disconnected nature, fulfilling the bare minimum required by the genre but notably lacking the creative direction Don Siegel furnished in the original. The main plot ( part of the double meaning of the title ) involves a secret "death squad" functioning within the police department; interestingly, the storyline appears to have been developed as a counter to accusations ( made by the cultural left ) that the first film was "fascistic". Eastwood's charisma and a few good lines notwithstanding, the film runs on for far too long to little effect. TWO-STAR RATING.
THE ENFORCER ( 1976 ) is the worst of the entire DH series, containing a ridiculous plot centering on underground revolutionary criminals ( modeled on the SLA ) with the subplot focused on the bantering exchanges between Callahan and his ( female ) partner ( played by Tyne Daly ). The cheesy "jazz" score that drones on through the center of the film is extremely irritating and while Eastwood has a few good scenes, interest is not sustained. The final 10 minutes ( location shooting on Alcatraz Island ) is worth a look but all in all this movie does not repay the effort of watching it. ONE-STAR RATING.
SUDDEN IMPACT ( 1983 ) is the only Dirty Harry film directed by Eastwood and easily the best of the sequels. Several aspects set this film apart from the others:
1. The plot has some real substance, Sandra Locke giving a good performance as a successful artist who, haunted by the gang rape she and her sister suffered a decade earlier, stumbles upon one of the ( never punished ) thugs and sets out on a course of revenge against all the perpetrators.
2. The cinematography is excellent with Eastwood drawing upon his considerable directorial abilities. There is a convincing symmetry to the opening and closing titles ( beautiful overhead shots of nighttime San Francisco and an early morning overview of the Santa Cruz beachfront ). Several scenes ( Locke trapped in tormented reminiscence ) feature camera work drawing on a moodiness redolent of film-noir. There is also a nice daytime shot of Inspector Callahan looking over cliff-side crime scene, the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge stretched out in a distant background.
3. Eastwood ( having aged nicely in the 12 year interim between the original film ) brings more fire to his characterization than he had in the other sequels; seething sarcasm in his verbal confrontations with department officials and a ruthless, stone-cold application of force toward the repulsive criminals ( the villains are particularly well-portrayed ).
4. Lalo Schifrin' music score is the best since his work on the original.
Drawbacks? There are a few unnecessary action sequences which mar the otherwise unusually ( for the series ) focused storyline. FOUR-STAR RATING.
THE DEAD POOL ( 1988 ) is last film in the series and is certainly the most unorthodox of the sequels. Eastwood had obviously tired of the character and signed off on a script that allowed him to integrate two subplot themes that actually "trump" the ( superficial ) main storyline.
1. A satirical edge ( most apparent in its parody of the famous car chase in "BULLITT" ).
2. An indictment of both sensationalistic TV journalism and the narcissistic "cult" of celebrity prevalent in modern America.
The main storyline is fairly absurd and the action scenes are woodenly routine ( mob shootouts and diner robberies ) but Eastwood still looks and talks the part of Harry Callahan, with some good verbal jousts with an attractive television reporter and an arrogant schlock movie director ( played by Liam Neeson ). A young Jim Carrey plays the part of a drug addicted rock star.
As one would expect, the movie makes extensive use of location shooting in ever-photogenic San Francisco but nothing other than mere competency is achieved. All in all, it is clear that the well had run dry and Eastwood ( sensibly enough ) had some tongue-in-cheek fun with this, the last shot Harry Callahan fired. TWO-STAR RATING.
In conclusion: this box set is an obligatory purchase for Dirty Harry fans as well as for diehard Clint Eastwood "completists". For less dedicated viewers, the original "Dirty Harry" is very highly recommended with "Sudden Impact" as an enjoyably distant second choice.
