Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
The Dirty Harry series started out promisingly enough with Dirty Harry, the story of a maverick cop (in San Francisco of all places) who was interested in solving crimes rather than pandering to the namby-pamby denizens of left coast California. If this isn’t fantasy, then I don’t know what is! The original film, while flawed, resonated in an Archie Bunker sort of way with a lot of citizens’ repressed rage against affirmative action, anti-war demonstrations, and lukewarm government commitment to the Vietnam War depicted every day on the “nightly news at 6 and 11.”
With the success of that first film, the studio apparently began to think “sequel” and then, when Magnum Force turned out to be a little better than the original, they immediately began to think “series.” Unfortunately, the franchise was running out of ideas and the third outing (The Enforcer) was far worse, the next episode (Sudden Impact) yet worse, until we end up (mercifully) with the final chapter: 1988’s The Dead Pool.
Thankfully, The Dead Pool at 91 minutes is short and to the point. The script does not explore any new territory for the man who says little and shoots often, but then we don’t really expect that, do we? Here’s a recap: 1) there is a wacko on the loose in San Francisco (again); 2) as usual, Dirty Harry is in trouble with his superiors at the police department; 3) Harry is given a new ethnic minority partner to replace his previous ethnic minority/opposite sex partner who got killed in the last movie; 4) the killer has a personal thing about Harry; 5) Harry gets his man. But the script does provide a couple moments of comic relief and that is welcome for a series that has taken itself too seriously in a couple of cases.
An unnecessary side plot concerns a contract on Harry’s life. Well, maybe it is necessary, as it allows Harry to use his big Smith & Wesson magnum a couple of times when there aren’t other bad guys to shoot. One time, he draws the big .44 in a swanky restaurant to defend himself from what turn out to be autograph seekers! After Harry leaves, one of the guys mentions he has to change his shorts…
Anyway, the main idea is that there is this lottery being played in Frisco, where instead of picking numbers, you pick celebrities who will die before a stated cutoff date; Harry is one of the celebrities…
You may be thinking by now that I hate this film; I do not. It’s an average maverick detective movie that could have been much better for the money I’m sure they spent on it. There are some pretty interesting up-and-coming actors featured in it, including Liam Neeson and Jim Carrey (horribly campy performance).
Clint Eastwood as the title character does a dependable job of playing the guy we would all like to be at times, simply taking care of his problems with a big bang. Eastwood, to his credit, appears to be enjoying this role and, eyes twinkling, repeats a new Dirty Harry one liner twice in this film, You’re **** out of luck! Unfortunately, for the franchise, this one hasn’t been co-opted into the language as a couple former ones have, Do you feel lucky, punk? and Go ahead, make my day! You can’t win ‘em all, right?
Patricia Clarkson adds a certain degree of feminine pulchritude to the mix as a snotty TV reporter who learns to be a little more discreet after Harry breaks her camera and Evan Kim plays the thankless role of Harry’s partner in a fairly forgettable performance. One scene that doesn’t play very well features a parody of the famous car chase in Bullitt, but I’ll let you see that for yourself.
The Warner Bros. DVD boasts a handsome picture of Harry’s long-barreled .44 Magnum on the cover, along with Clint’s profile, and presents the film in 2.35: 1 wide screen theatrical format. The video is well preserved and features an unremarkable jazzy Lalo Schifrin score.
The Dead Pool, while not exactly a blaze of glory, ends the almost twenty-year career of Detective Harry Callahan with a watchable detective thriller. Three stars.
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