Magnum Force (1973)

Preceded by: Dirty Harry (1971)
Succeeded by: The Enforcer (1976)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Harry Callahan	Clint Eastwood
Lt. Briggs	Hal Holbrook	½
Early Smith	Felton Perry	½
Charlie McCoy	Mitchell Ryan
Davis	David Soul	½
Sweet	Tim Matheson
Grimes	Robert Urich
Call Girl	Margaret Avery

Review

The politics of this first of many Dirty Harry sequels is anything but subtle, putting in enormous amount of effort to turn the table in order to make Harry Callahan the good guy, and cover up his previous antics. It all becomes a bit too translucent and plotted, with stereotype bad guys with a lot more muddy motivation than the interesting Scorpio from the original. The film uses violence for effect, but what kind? Ultimately, both the Harry Callahan character and the film bite their own tails. If nothing else, the script by John Milius and Michael Cimino is a good detective story, and Clint's performance is commanding and crafty, keeping the action effective throughout. Even if the visuals are nowhere near as appealing as in the stylish original.