Magnum Force

Harry, he is still the law.

Magnum Force is directed by Ted Post and collectively written by Harry and Rita Fink, John Milius and Michael Cimino. It stars Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitchell Ryan, David Soul, Felton Perry, Tim Matheson and Robert Urich. Music is by Lalo Schifrin and cinematography by Frank Stanley.

The second Dirty Harry movie finds Inspector Callahan on the trail of a vigilante group who are offing Frisco’s villains.

Following in the wake of "Dirty Harry" was never going to be easy, Don Siegel’s film was very much a trail blazer of sorts, giving the movie lovers of the world a different cop than that which was accustomed. So what to do with "Magnum Force" then, the inevitable sequel given "Dirty Harry’s" popularity? The makers come up with a great idea, have Harry confront a group of vigilantes who believe in his own kill crime ethics, only they take it to the extreme.

So begins a trail of blood for Harry to follow which leads him right where we the viewers pretty much knew he was going to end up. Ted Post is no Don Siegel, and although the action and all round testosterone feel that so marked out the "Dirty Harry" films is exciting and evident respectively, there’s periods where the film meanders. The instances that serve to add more complexity to Harry’s make-up is welcome, but aside from a jumping bean turn from Holbrook, the director can’t get much out of the rest of the cast, as shame since there’s a lot of up and coming talent and stalwarts in the mix.

Still, even with some minor and evident problems it’s a lively and entertaining sequel (the best of them actually), one that doesn’t shy away from pushing some buttons and baiting of critics who had disdain for the first film. The ending is a disappointment, though, but the journey is ultimately meaty and macho. 7.5/10

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.