Magnum Force

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitch Ryan, David Soul, Tim Matheson
Directed by: Ted Post
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
1973

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Officer "Dirty Harry" Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is back on the force, this time hunting down a vigilante who is taking matters into his own hands, murdering the scum of the city.

Review:

Tim: Dirty Harry Callahan is back in this slightly less enjoyable sequel to Dirty Harry. This time around, Harry is tracking down a killer murdering the city's worst offenders. While this is interesting, it isn't quite as intense as the Scorpio killer in the original.

Clint Eastwood is once again fantastic as Callahan. He doesn't get to deliver a cool speech like the "Do you feel lucky?" one in the first film. However, he is still supremely cool and fun to watch. The supporting cast is decent, but no one really stands out.

In this film, Callahan's disrespect for authority and at least one of his superior's dislike of him is more fully explored. This adds an interesting detail to the film (although we've already seen some of this in the original). Harry also has a quasi-love interest in this film, which may surprise some viewers, as it comes out of nowhere (do a little research to find out the slightly odd reason behind it).

Cop and crime thriller fans should find enough to enjoy here. While the film is entertaining, it is clearly not on the same level as Dirty Harry. While it suffers from the typical sequel problems, it is still a solid movie. Plus, there are three Dirty Harry movies following this one, so the franchise has plenty of chances for improvement.

While Magnum Force may be one of the weakest Harry Callahan films, you can still do far worse, and I definitely recommend it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Dirty Harry, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact, The Dead Pool