Magnum Force

Clint Eastwood in full force. His Harry Callahan is undoubtedly the coolest cop that ever cleaned America's dirty streets in the turbulent 1970s. Though there's no shortage of corpses and a great killer finale, compared to Dirty Harry, Magnum Force has a noticeably better and more complex story that gives Clint room to let something nice out of his mouth. Aside from the fact that Callahan is a bit wiser and we see him as a genuinely positive hero amidst a savage jungle of corrupt cops and dead mobsters, it's still business as usual: tough talk, loaded guns, bickering with his superiors, and a complete disregard for the sharpened criticism of the time. And it works absolutely brilliant. (07/04/2012)

The follow-up to Dirty Harry brought back the iconic main character along with a small crowd of killers, though I'm not entirely convinced it added to the story. None of the villains managed to smirk arrogantly enough to make me eagerly anticipate their teeth being knocked out. Harry Callahan, true to form, remained cool as ever, echoing my sentiments from the previous installment. However, this time around, the story lacked a clear direction. Despite these critiques and its age, the film managed to captivate me more than many contemporary works, delivering an enjoyable experience once again. / Lesson learned: It's probably wiser not to provoke the traffic police. 4*- (04/11/2022)

If you’ve seen a few action films, you pretty much know what to expect from Magnum Force. Especially when you consider it’s a 1973 crime thriller starring Clint Eastwood. The movie is packed with memorable one-liners and plenty of violence, all of which Clint navigates like the ultimate badass. I’d even go as far as to say this is one of the best American crime films I’ve ever watched, easily standing toe-to-toe with the top French films of the same era. And the car chases? Pure style—you're going to want to hit replay on those a few times. (07/07/2021)

Although the body count has increased about fivefold compared to the prequel, Harry himself has gone slightly backwards. Due of his attitude towards criminals (sort of along the lines of "the gun is the best judge"), the previous Dirty Harry was accused in critical circles of fascizoid tendencies, apologism, and a return to the primitive law of the fist. Here Harry makes up for his critics to some extent by refusing the offer of the police executioners and self-appointed judges to join them, and in a conversation with his superior Briggs he proves that he’s being unfairly accused of an "eye for an eye" attitude (“...where's it gonna end? Huh, Briggs? Pretty soon, you'll start executing people for jaywalking...). It didn't help much, I guess, because Magnum Force had equally devastating reviews, but despite them, it didn't lose the audience's favor brought in even more money to the box office than it did for the prequel. Even in terms of form, compared to Dirty Harry, Magnum Force comes out as a winner, it is more elaborate in plot (the script was written by John Millius, creator of Conan the Barbarian) and more action-packed. The 1970s in full force. (07/14/2006)

Even though it surprised me a lot, this second installment, despite being quite drawn out again, entertained me even more than the first part. Clint Eastwood is now truly the dangerous cop here, but even though he shoots first, he's always on the side of the law and always finds a way to take care of that scumbag. The finale is just awesome. (08/13/2015)