Magnum Force

Rating:
Summary: May the Magnum Force be with you.
Review: Somewhat dated, MAGNUM FORCE is mostly a curiosity of sorts because you have future tv/movie stars (the late)Robert Urich (VEGAS,S.W.A.T), David Soul(STARSKY AND HUTCH), and Tim Matheson (ANIMAL HOUSE, 1941, WEST WING) in the villian roles (actor Kip Niven is the odd man out here who has went on to play mostly character support roles). The four play a quartet of vigilante mototcycle cops taking over when criminals buck the system and can't get convicted. Somehow, one wants to root for these guys, but when Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) refuses to support their cause and even join their crusade, it becomes a whole new ballgame. They begin to kill off members of their own police department who may get in their way and their toughest adversary, Harry Callahan is next on their list. As in the first DIRTY HARRY, the rule that everyone is protected by the law and have the right to exercise their rights as citizens is again explored with a twist. Eastwood again is great as the no nonsense Harry Callahan playing with him cool and tough. Again, as in all the 'Dirty Harry' films there is a classic line to be quoted. In this film, hands down, it's "A man's got to know his limitations!" Great villian role by Hal Holbrook as Lt. Briggs, good support role by unsung character actor Felton Perry (HOOPERMAN, ROBOCOP) as Smith..another one of Harry Callahan's luckless partners (in this reviewer's opinion, the film was a real downer when the character was 'oft' as a result of a letter bomb), and John Mitchum (brother of Robert Mitchum, F-TROOP, DIRTY HARRY, ENFORCER) as DiGorgio.

Rating:
Summary: The best of the rest
Review: It takes real guts to try a sequel to a great movie (maybe not, since it is tried so maddeningly often!). Sure is hard to come up with a movie as good as Dirty Harry. This one copmes close.

This film fleshes out Dirty Harry Callahan a bit, and while we were left with an image of him from the first movie as someone who ignores police procedure (as well as the Bill of Rights), he is by no means a vigilante, and does have some sense of right and wrong. Make no mistake about the fact, though, that he remains Harry, and has no compunctions when it comes to literally murdering the head bad guy -his boss- as the film concluded).

The plot line is pretty simple. Within the S.F.P.D., there is a sub-culture of police, led by Eastwood's boss Hal Holbrooke, with David Soul, Tim Mathewson and Robert Urich. These guys have decided that they will eliminate all the bad guys, down to a local pimp, since the law cannot get them (the first bad guy goes free because at trial, there is a "lack of admissible evidence" - what a concept!). Not knowing Harry as we now do, they assume that he and his .44 Mag will join them eagerly. Of course, they are wrong.

Shot again in San Francisco, making a brilliant backdrop for a well photographed film. Others have raved about the cameo of topless Suzanne Summers, and we also see a Dirty Harry series regular, Albert Popwell, who this time (second of four efforts) plays a misogynist pimp. Speaking of bit parts, S.S> surely takes a back seat when we see Harry with a lady, played splendidly by Adele Yoshioka.

As we have come to expect from Dirty Harry movies, there is a ton of violence - which will be somewhat off-putting for those with tender sensibilities. Harry's tag line here (remember, we must have a different one in each movie) is "A good man's got to know his limitations". Harry seems to have none here. This movie certainly illustrates none. It is almost as goods as the first, which is saying a great deal.

Rating:
Summary: YOUR THERAPIST WON'T RECOGNIZE YOU . . .
Review: "I know what your thinkin' ..."

MAGNUM FORCE is one of the best ways to begin to access the DIRTY HARRY series.

In fact, its a great way to begin to access the entire worthy Clint Eastwood canon.

MAGNUM FORCE has a bit more action than DIRTY HARRY. There are enough great lines to introduce you to the moralizing, integrity-orientated "machismo" and self-confidence of the Dirty Harry character depicted by Clint Eastwood.

MAGNUM FORCE doesn't overwhelm you with the complexities of the tough DIRTY HARRY figure the way the original Harry film does.

... its violence is part of the realism of MAGNUM FORCE. Action fans won't mind. However, sweet and lighters might stay away from this film because of its violence. That would be a mistake. There is more substance here than many people continue to imagine...

...There is more to MAGNUM FORCE than violence and obtuse special effects. The substantial virtues and honesty of the Dirty Harry character make the entire series MORE than worthwhile. MAGNUM FORCE proves to be the best introduction, overall, to the series.

Once you have watched the entire DIRTY HARRY series several times. You will then realise why it stands head and shoulders over other action series.

... and as you come to appreciate, understand, and assimilate some of Dirty Harry's valuable perspectives, you are likely to change, too ... and you'll understand more of what "integrity" really means, for your own life ...

Interviews with Clint Eastwood to be found elsewhere, attest to the real purpose behind the overlooked, underrated, and misunderstood DIRTY HARRY films.

.. of course, those of us who know this series well, know that the original DIRTY HARRY film is the best, overall. It investigates the Dirty Harry character the most deeply...

... but MAGNUM FORCE is the best place to start with DIRTY HARRY, for the reasons mentioned above...

... but please, whatever you do, remember the grittiness is part of the realism here. Harry integrates with, and reacts to, the brutal environment in all the Dirty Harry films. It's all part of the message...so avoid the edited, sanitized versions of Dirty Harry,etc. on television...

...own your own copy of this film.

You'll be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: Dirty Harry is back on the case.
Review: The closing moment of Dirty Harry, where everybodys favorite San Francisco police inspector throws his badge away, might have worked better here, as the story is about Harry dealing with vigilante cops simply executing the criminals that are too difficult to prosecute. Magnum Force doesn't have the dark, kinetic energy of Don Siegel's seminal police thriller, but it does feature the series trademarked brutal yet necessary-to-make-the-point violence and some great action sequences. The Warner Brothers disc restores to movie to its widescreen aspect ratio (which makes the film all that more visually impressive) and offers the original trailer and a behind-the-scenes documentary from the era. For fans of Harry Callahan (or just of Clint Eastwood), this series entry is a must have. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Great Stuff...if you like Clint Eastwood
Review: This is a movie you need to own if you like Clint Eastwood/Harry Callahan. I rank it as the second best of the Dirty Harry movies, behind the opening installment. The details aren't all that important...they never are in a Dirty Harry film. Suffice to say there's quite a lot of shooting and, in the end, the right people wind up getting shot. On the negative side, this movie has a cheap, plastic look. The camera angles are sometimes bizarre and the special effects/stunts are dreadful. Also, the soundtrack is just plain scary. As a result of these shortcomings, Magnum Force has not weathered the test of time very well. It seems hopelessly dated. Nonetheless, I recommend this movie to those who enjoy Eastwood's work.

Rating:
Summary: Another Side Of Dirty Harry Revealed
Review: Magnum Force is the second of the five Dirty Harry films. Originally a sequel to Clint Eastwood's 1971 classic was not planned, but overwhelming feedback (including reallife San Francisco graffiti pleading, "Dirty Harry, we need you) persuaded Warner Brothers and Malpaso to go ahead.

What becomes clear almost from the beginning is that this will not be a film with the exact same mentality of the first. Aside from the fact that the atmospheric photography and direction of the first have been replaced by more conventional (but still enticing) photography and direction (here by Ted Post), as well as a tougher textured score by Lalo Schifrin, Magnum Force also backs away from the unrestrainted anti-crime viewpoint of the first film, noting the shades of gray that inevitably appear in the battle against crime.

It is first shown in the film's opening, as businessman/mobster Carmine Ricca (a superb Richard Devon) is acquitted of a particularly vicious murder on a bogus technicality - a fact that brings out near-violent demonstrators. A traffic policeman pulls Ricca's limo over for crossing a double line, but as the driver disguestedly gets his license back, the cop unholsters his .357 and blasts the men within the vehicle.

Harry and his new partner, Earlington "Early" Smith - excellently played by Felton Perry, but I find his listed date of birth in 1955 hard to believe, as he would have only been 18 in the film's 1973-4 time period - drive by the sight as the new bane of Harry's life, Lt. Neil Briggs (Hal Holbrook playing the smarmy angle to the nth degree), leads the check of the crime scene. Briggs orders Harry back to the stakeout squad - which Harry pointedly notes Briggs was instrumental in making possible - but instead Harry's lunch date with an ex-homicide man at an airport lunchcounter becomes a great foiled hijacking scene.

Harry then meets another old friend, burned out cop Charlie McCoy (Mitchell Ryan), who has tried to kill himself and has left his wife Carol and their kids. Harry is deeply disturbed by his friend's turn in life, but he puts it aside enough to witness shooting practice by four rookie traffic cops, led by John Davis (David Soul in the role that may have been instrumental in getting the Starsky & Hutch role two years later). The recently departed Robert Urich is among the rookies, noting to Harry that being a cop on the streets won't pay off if one can't shoot well.

The traffic cop then blasts a houseful of a mobster's pool party, while Harry and Early pull off a brilliant store ambush of four gunmen who've targeted the place before. When a prostitute (Margaret Avery of the later "Harry O" series) is force-fed drain cleaner in a cab by her pimp (Albert Popwell), the traffic cop targets the pimp - given the genuinely revolting aspect of the scene it is hardly surprising.

But it is the final straw for the SFPD, as Briggs and Captain Avery reassign Harry and Early to homicide. Harry and Early's check of the pimp's obscenely expensive car feeds into Harry a suspicion about the killer's identity, and Harry objects when Briggs has him tail mobster Frank Palancio while Harry's close pal Frank DiGeorgio stakes out across from the penthouse of mobster Lou Guzman. The traffic cop then strikes, killing Guzman and his two 20-something boy-and-girltoys - but then he kills Charlie McCoy, and his true identity becomes known to the audience.

When Briggs orders a mass-arrest of mobsters beginning with Palancio, Harry asks that John Davis and another rookie traffic cop, Phil Sweet, be his backup. But everything goes wrong when Palancio gets word of the raid and a gunfight erupts - and Palancio's place is found to be clean.

Now the truth about the mob killings comes out in a bullet taken from McCoy's body, and Harry himself becomes the target of the killer - and also the least expected ally possible, and in the process we see that, while Harry may hate The System, he knows that it is still what seperates civilization from barbarians.

Rating:
Summary: Great movie, but not as good as the original.
Review: "Magnum Force" is a great film, but not as good as the original "Dirty Harry." "Magnum Force" is definitly better than the last three "Dirty Harry" movies ("The Enforcer," "Sudden Impact," and "The Dead Pool"). Vigilante rookie cops are killing the top criminals of San Francisco. The only things that keeps this one from being equal to "Dirty Harry" is the style in which it was filmed in and the script. The locations in San Francisco were not used as well and the script is just a bit mediocre, though still good. Still, this is an entertaining movie and it also has a political side to it. It tells that even though Harry Callahan does break some rules to get justice served, he still is not a vigilante, and still vows to 'uphold the law.' The villain is Lieutenant Briggs (Hal Holbrook) and though he is a good villain, he's not as good as Scorpio (from the original). If you're a Clint Eastwood fan, like me, and have not seen this, I highly recommend you see or get this, and all of his other movies.

Rating:
Summary: The best way to deal with criminals
Review: As stated in the original tagline for the first Dirty Harry film, "you don't assign Dirty Harry to cases...you just turn him loose." Like the first film, and the third movie "the Enforcer" released three years later, "Magnum Force" clearly recaptures the raw, brutal, and explosive elements of the first film. Clint Eastwood is definately at his best as San Francisco Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Francis Callahan. Along with Hal Holbrook, who plays Harry's supervisor (with a hidden agenda that is revealed in a unique plot twist), David Soul, Robert Urich, Tim Matheson, and Kentucky native Mitchell Ryan, Magnum Force begins with the mysterious shooting of a mobster and his men at the hands of a traffic cop. From that point on, four traffic cops kill off various criminals who have either gotten off lightly or slipped through the system due to a technical loophole. Loosely translated, these four traffic cops are putting the courts and legal systems out of business. Harry and his new partner uncover the mystery, and are soon deemed a threat by the vigilante policemen. Soon, it becomes a major confrontation between Harry and the vigilantes. Even though Harry hates the system and he can empathize with the vigilantes, he is still sworn to uphold the law. As Harry states near the end of the movie, "Until someone comes up with some changes that make better sense, I'll stick with the system!"

This definately the best out of all the Dirty Harry films. For 1973, this movie was just as controversial and violent as the first movie. However, it does strike a nerve and makes a very serious point. You cannot help but understand where the vigilantes are coming from. If the legal and judicial system worked as well as it should, there would be no need for the police officers to deliver their own brand of justice. Particularly star-chamber justice. However, one has to admit that star-chamber justice would definately cut down and reduce criminal activities. More than likely, cut it down to the bone. This film definately hits on some social issues and really brings out the message that it is conveying. If you enjoy the Dirty Harry films, or the works of Clint Eastwood, then you will enjoy Magnum Force.

Not only will you be entertained....you will also be wishing that your local police department dealt with criminals the same way as the traffic cops did in this powerful masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: "I think you've misjudged me"
Review: Excellent DVD Transfer. This movie belongs on widescreen, it makes a tremendous difference from the formatted standard VHS version. Lalo Schifrin's soundtrack sounds much better on DVD. The featurette was great. The movie is the best of the sequels, with Sudden Impact running a close second. Not as gritty as the first but it stands on it's own merits and shows Harry in a different light. The late John Mitchum, Robert's brother, returns in this installment of the DH series. Albert Popwell also returns, this time as the pimp. Suzanne Somers makes a brief appearence (fresh off American Graffiti and pre Three's Company)
Standout performances by future TV stars David Soul and Robert Urich.

Rating:
Summary: The Magnum man is back! In full force.!
Review: I am probubly the lone holdout on this film but I think it is the best Dirty Harry film of the series. From start to finish it is riviting. The opening scene where you look down the barrel of the Magnum 45 is one thing. Having it shoot right at you is another. This film is not as stylish as the first Dirty Harry film and that is all the better. Harry Callahan was never into style that much to begin with. He did things his own way regardless of the system he had to follow. This is a much more graphic and brutally violent film than the first and the R rating should have been thought about before being classified. The story line is very interesting and at the same time scary. Imagine the police acting like judge and jury. Some great acting along with some early appearances by Suzzane Summers, and David Soul (3 or 4 years before Starsky and Hutch). Robert Urich and Tim Matheson also make eary appearances. This is the first appearance of the film in widescreen and it is about time. Print is in excellent condition. The 5.1 audio is very effective. All in all this is the Diry Harry film that I prefer above all the others. I highly recomend it.