The Enforcer (1976)
8/10
Sometime You Need Neanderthals In The Department
3 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
It might not be the best of the Dirty Harry films, but The Enforcer is my favorite one. This is the one where the sexist side of Inspector Harry Callahan is explored and challenged.

Clint Eastwood is now on some dead end assignment in the San Francisco PD because he's once again offended someone powerful. He's now reviewing applicants for promotion. But when a robbery occurs of an armory and some heavy duty weapons are stolen, the SFPD has to turn to Dirty Harry.

In this case something called the People's Liberation Strike Force with those weapons and explosives now start making demands on the city of San Francisco.

A lot of dead bodies pile up in this one, including John Mitchum in his third and final appearance in a Dirty Harry film. Mitchum was one of the detectives in the SFPD Homicide Squad and had a peripheral role in the first two films. Here he becomes Clint's partner and actually uncovers the hideout of the militants, but the leader gets the drop on him and kills him.

Harry Guardino returns as Eastwood's immediate superior, Guardino was absent from Magnum Force, he figured prominently as the constantly harassed superior. Bradford Dillman is an ambitious politically minded captain, who gets the liberal mayor, John Crawford's ear.

Tyne Daly gives the best performance, probably her best big screen role as the female partner Eastwood is assigned with. It's part of the new look the SFPD is being given. She's quite the inexperienced klutz at first, something Clint doesn't really need. In the end she really does redeem herself. And Clint loses a bit off the testosterone here.

The final shootout with the militants who've hidden out on deserted Alcatraz Island is the best climax of any of the Dirty Harry films. The Enforcer's got the best ending of any Dirty Harry film.

As you gather some punks chose to try their luck with Dirty Harry.
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