Magnum Force.

Review #1135: Magnum Force.

Cast: 
Clint Eastwood (Inspector Harry Callahan), Hal Holbrook (Lt. Neil Briggs), David Soul (Officer John Davis), Tim Matheson (Officer Phil Sweet), Kip Niven (Officer Alan "Red" Astrachan), Robert Urich (Officer Mike Grimes), Felton Perry (Inspector Earlington "Early" Smith), Mitchell Ryan (Officer Charlie McCoy), Bob McClurg (the Cab Driver), and John Mitchum (Inspector Frank DiGiorgio) Directed by Ted Post (#518 - Hang 'Em High and #662 - Beneath the Planet of the Apes)

Review: 
The original Dirty Harry was a great success as an action crime thriller upon release in 1971, having a great combination of talent and style to it, from Don Siegel as director to a screenplay written by Harry Julian Fink, R.M. Fink & Dean Riesner, with un-credited work from John Milius. This time around, the director is Ted Post, who had directed numerous television programs such as Rawhide (also starring Clint Eastwood) and The Twilight Zone along with a few feature films, with Milius doing the story and co-writing the screenplay with Michael Cimino (co-writer of the screenplay for Silent Running a year prior). It should be noted that there had been a draft for the original film written by Terrence Malick that had a vigilante who hunted wealthy criminals who had gotten free of justice, which certainly has a bit of similarity with the story that Milius came up with for the sequel - albeit with motorcycle cops. The original film certainly attracted attention (and controversy) with the way it portrayed its loose cannon main character and how he did business, but the movie was certainly a popular one due to how it reflected the time it was made. In any case, the sequel tries to follow that up with something fresh, with the villain being people more rogue than him. For the most part, Magnum Force does a fine job in generating entertainment and thrills enough to make for a decent sequel, although it certainly has its limitations. Eastwood is as tough and grizzled as ever, which certainly leads to a bunch of effective sequences, such as the one involving a pistol championship between the cops or a scene with the adversaries and Eastwood stating their differences. Holbrook does a fine job with the role, managing to not fall under the radar while providing a fair contrast between his character and the main with how they treat the system - made true with the last half. Soul and the other three cops are okay, but they pale when compared to the villain from the original, particularly since they feel a bit more disposable and not as creepy this time around - for better or worse. Perry makes an fair impression when with Eastwood as partners, for the most part. Ryan does okay with the raw bit of time he has on screen. The film certainly feels a bit long at 124 minutes (as compared to the original being 102 minutes), and it is likely due to occasional lulls in the middle. The climax does fine with helping the film end without stumbling too much, but it doesn't seem to have the kind of punch that stands out amongst other action thrillers. Milius wasn't a particular fan of the film, describing it as one he did not like much, saying "They changed a lot of things in a cheap and distasteful manner. The whole ending is wrong, it wasn't mine at all. All movies had a motorcycle or car chase at the time — except Westerns." the film certainly had its troubles, with Post and Eastwood having disagreements over how the film should be done, which led to a falling out. In any case, There certainly is a good amount of action that will satisfy people enough without being too brutal or too out of place. I can't say that this is a great film by any means, but it is at least fair entertainment and a fair sequel.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.