Magnum Force

A couple of years on from his “make my day, punk” warning, “Callaghan” (Clint Eastwood) is still policing San Francisco in his own ruthlessly inimitable fashion. He gets results, but usually to the chagrin of “Lt. Briggs” (Hal Holbrook) who has to clean up and and pay for the mess. His latest case is a bit of a quandary. People whom most folks would probably be glad to find dead are turning up murdered. Criminals, pimps, drug dealers, hookers - the very people the public are glad to see the back of. “Callaghan” gets himself a new partner (Felton Perry) and is soon suspicious of the fact that wherever these crimes happen there is never a witness, but usually a conveniently located beat cop. Now I reckon you’ll have to be especially slow not to cotton on to who is doing what, and even to work out who is pulling the strings, so on that front this isn’t really one to tax the grey cells. What it does do, though, is put the menace back onto the streets of the city with precision shoot-outs, car chases, shattered furniture and some seriously pithy put-downs from an inspector on an increasingly personal mission. Perry delivers quite well as his foil and a solid collection of familiar supporting faces appear throughout to populate the underbelly of a city that’s facing quite a deadly cull. The direction is taut and with Lalo Schifrin back to keep the musical momentum going, Eastwood is entirely at home in the skin of a character that’s amongst the best of the genre. It’s not quite so good as the first outing, but it’s not far away.

To break it down, Harry is cleaned up and taking on vigilantes...by acting like one himself. In all honesty, the Dirty Harry films are hit and miss, but this one seems to contradict itself the most and that doesn't sit well. It's better than The Dead Pool, but it doesn't really fit with Harry's personality.

A strong follow-up to 'Dirty Harry'. I feel as positively about this as I do about that 1971 original. I don't think they set the world alight per se, but they are unquestionably entertaining and have a strong vibe about them. Clint Eastwood is terrific, while the support cast - though not on the aforementioned's level - are solid. Good story, well paced... I like it.