Rating:
Remember the old days before we knew that Clint Eastwood was really a pretty good actor, before we cared that he was really a pretty good director, when Sergio Leone would say that he “has only two facial expressions: one with the hat, and one without it?” Remember when that quote was the whole reason we liked him? When we loved him for his badassery without caring about anything else? Magnum Force, the second of five movies about Harry Callahan, lies squarely within that wonderful era.

Eastwood plays Inspector Callahan, the character he first brought to the screen in Dirty Harry. The man himself is much the same in this picture as in the first—he enforces the law the way he wants to, he makes sure his every remark is wry, and he walks around secure in the knowledge that he is the absolute king of toughness. Thankfully this sequel didn’t try to bring any humanizing touches to the character; we in the audience don’t care about the weaknesses and flaws that make him like us, we want him to be better than us, almost superhuman in his capabilities and in his assurance that he’s on the right side of every issue. That kind of attitude doesn’t fly in real life, but in a movie like this it provides the perfect guy to root for and to give you your vicarious thrills.

The plot? Bodies are piling up as an unknown gunman commits one murder after another and only our Heroic Cop has a chance of stopping it…if only the Stupid Chief (in this case, Hal Holbrook) will stop interfering and let the man get his results! Sound familiar? Of course it does! But with Eastwood as Harry Callahan, this familiar trope works like a charm. The specifics of the story lead Callahan to suspect the killer is someone within the police department itself, but those specifics don’t matter, not really. What matters is that we get to watch a tough guy buck against the system as he fights on the side of justice, and we love it. It may sound somewhat dismissive to boil the movie down to that brief line, but this isn’t a picture to dismiss. It travels familiar ground, sure, but everyone involved goes at the project with skill and style. They embrace the essence of the film rather than shy away from it.

For whatever reasons, the formula of the Dirty Harry movies works. They’re gritty and violent, but they’re always exciting, with dynamic cutting and camera work keeping everything moving along and interesting. Instead of descending into nastiness, they always stay on the right side of the line between fun and unpleasant. And while Magnum Force doesn’t have any iconic moments that have transcended the film into the larger culture, like Dirty Harry’s “Do ya feel lucky,” the movie as a whole is just as excellent as its predecessor, and it offers a hell of a good time to anyone who comes to it.

SPECIAL BONUS FEATURE: Discuss Clint Eastwood With Your Friends, Lesson OneWhen a friend or lover asks “What’s your favorite Clint Eastwood movie?” you can’t go wrong with the following reply: “Oh, I like the one where he plays a laconic tough guy who plays by his own rules.” Do this a couple of times, and your problem of having friends and lovers will soon be solved!

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