Magnum Force - Harry Calahan, Upholder Of The Law

Mar

20

Magnum Force - Harry Calahan, Upholder Of The Law

≡ Category: Action, Movie Reviews By Country, United States, Worth A Look |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

Country: United States
Genre: Action
Director: Ted Post
Year: 1973

Rating:

WORTH A LOOK

After Dirty Harry came out, certain elements in the media made a big stink that the film was fascist and had contempt for civil liberties and the rule of law, and opined that it’s hero Harry Calahan was little more than a thug and vigilante.

Screenwriters John Milius and Michael Cimino answer these charges with Magnum Force.

Here’s how it goes. Bad guys are getting mowed down left and right, along with the poor unfortunate schmucks who happen to be around or get in the way. Naturally, Harry (Clint Eastwood) isn’t all that upset about the bad guys that get whacked.

We get to witness these executions, and the perpetrator is always dressed like a cop. So, the question arises, is this a vigilante impersonating a cop, or are we watching a cop playing vigilante?

You would think Harry would be fine with this last scenario, but no, Harry is sworn to uphold the law, even though he doesn’t much like the system. Yeah, right. The only difference I can see between the vigilante and Harry is that Harry doesn’t go around bushwhacking innocent civilians that happen to get in the way of the bad guys. To his credit, Harry isn’t a big believer in collateral damage. Good for him.

So, in it’s muddleheaded way, Magnum Force confronts the issue of vigilante justice, much as Dirty Harry took on the supposed coddling of criminals.

That’s fun to a certain extent, but for much of Magnum Force, what’s missing is a juicy antagonist for Harry on the order of Andrew Robinson’s Scorpio killer. Oh, sure, there’s Lieutenant Briggs (Hal Holbrook), who scolds Harry for his shoot first ask questions later style, but that’s par for the course.

The screenwriters and director Ted Post try to make up for it by throwing in some of Harry’s hijinks — a stakeout here, an airplane hijacking there, but it’s pretty thin gruel by the standards of the Dirty Harry series. So is the catchphrase for Magnum Force: “A man should know his limitations.” Doesn’t quite have the ring of “Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?” or “Make my day,” does it?

That said, there is a pretty nifty action sequence about an hour in. Inspector Briggs insists that a mobster named Frank Palancio (the hilarious Tony Giorgio) is behind the killings and sends Harry to arrest him and his crew. But somebody calls Palancio and tells him that his place is about to be hit by gunmen dressed as cops. When Harry shows up, you can guess the result. It’s especially amusing when Palencio tries to get away in a big old gas guzzler and Harry ends up spreadeagled on the hood.

I should also mention that Dirty Harry film composer Lalo Schifrin contributes another tasty score for Magnum Force, maintaining a bit of the feel of the earlier film, but it’s not nearly enough. Magnum Force has a lackluster script, made worse by the pedestrian meat and potatoes direction of Ted Post, who is mostly a TV director. He’s no Don Siegel, that’s for sure.

When all is said and done, Magnum Force is a letdown for the series, especially coming after the classic Dirty Harry. If, like me, you absolutely have to see all of the Dirty Harry flicks, indulge yourself — there are intermittent moments of amusement — but for casual fans, don’t bother.