San Francisco Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is on the trail of vigilante Police Officers who are not above going beyond the law to kill the city's undesirables.
San Francisco Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) and his new partner, Earlington "Early" Smith (Felton Perry) have been temporarily reassigned from Homicide to Stakeout Duty. Meanwhile, those of the city's criminals who manage to avoid punishment by the courts are nevertheless being killed by unknown assassins. Callahan begins to investigate the murders despite orders from his superior officer, Lieutenant Neil Briggs (Hal Holbrook). A man has to know his limitations.Written by
Bruce Janson <bruce@cs.su.oz.au>
After Harry tries Davis' gun at the shooting competition, he is heard to say to Davis, "Not bad, I seem to have lost the last one" but the movement of his lips clearly indicates that he actually said "the first one". See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Harry Callahan:
[at end of main titles]
This is a 44. Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and it could blow your head clean off. Do you feel lucky?
[fires at the audience]
See more »
Crazy Credits
The credits are played over a hand (presumably Harry's) holding a 44 Magnum against a red background. As such, this is the only Dirty Harry movie in which the opening credits are not played over San Francisco scenery. See more »
Alternate Versions
The original closing credits were altered by way of chyron on VHS prints issued since 1992 to change the Warner Bros. in-credit logo w/Warner Communications byline at the time to the Warner Bros. shield logo w/Time Warner Entertainment byline. The original closing credits are left intact on the DVD print. See more »
This sequel to the entertaining "Dirty Harry" stands with few peers when it comes to successful follow-ups. Most don't stand on their own feet but Magnum Force does solidly. Changing the plot but not the style is good formula in movies, rather than playing out what was already done in the original, which is why so many sequels fail. "Magnum Force" is my second favorite film by Eastwood after "High Plains Drifter". Harry still likes to do things his way although rather than focusing his energy on the bad guys, he's focused on some crooked cops in his own department! Follows in the original's footsteps with lots of great views of San Francisco (My Birthplace!) I always feel at home when watching this movie. This is another film that is played a lot on TV because its so good on it's own. Felton Perry does a good job as Harry's partner, comparable to Reni Santoni in the original. Didn't like any of the sequels that followed this movie with the exception of Sudden Impact. Magnum Force is a film that rates highly as watchable again & again.
32 of 45 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
This sequel to the entertaining "Dirty Harry" stands with few peers when it comes to successful follow-ups. Most don't stand on their own feet but Magnum Force does solidly. Changing the plot but not the style is good formula in movies, rather than playing out what was already done in the original, which is why so many sequels fail. "Magnum Force" is my second favorite film by Eastwood after "High Plains Drifter". Harry still likes to do things his way although rather than focusing his energy on the bad guys, he's focused on some crooked cops in his own department! Follows in the original's footsteps with lots of great views of San Francisco (My Birthplace!) I always feel at home when watching this movie. This is another film that is played a lot on TV because its so good on it's own. Felton Perry does a good job as Harry's partner, comparable to Reni Santoni in the original. Didn't like any of the sequels that followed this movie with the exception of Sudden Impact. Magnum Force is a film that rates highly as watchable again & again.