This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Harry's Limitations
Plot Overview
San Francisco Police Inspector
“Dirty” Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is back, relegated
by his testy superior Lieutenant Neil Briggs (Hal Holbrook) to the
stakeout squad on account of the horrendous amount of paperwork
generated by his mischief in Homicide. No matter. Being Johnny-on-the-spot
at the airport when a couple hijackers request an overseas
pilot, he goes undercover, like deep undercover and over
his head, dressed as a pilot, boarding the plane without his
piece 
or (copilot: “Can you fly?”)
any flight experience (Harry: “Nope.”) As he's bringing
the four-engine jet up to speed on the runway, Harry seems to
be disregarding his own maxim: “A man's got to know his
limitations.”
A combat sharpshooting
competition with a rookie cop formerly of the Army Rangers will devolve
into real combat once Harry makes him for one of the vigilantes executing
bad guys at traffic stops. A motorcycle chase on a derelict
aircraft carrier is about to run out of deck space when again
the audience wonders whether Harry can fly.
Ideology
The film opens at the courthouse with the press covering a brouhaha (“Dump the bum”) over the murder acquittal of crooked labor leader (“legitimate businessman”) Carmine Ricci (Richard Devon) on a technicality—lack of admissible evidence. Switch to the same scene on a TV set on a nightstand next to a trophy board, a B&W graduation picture of an SFPD motorcycle cop, and his helmet. He dons the latter and mounts the former. On the freeway we see him framed in the side mirror of a car he's stopped, then in the rear window of the gumba's car as he walks back to his motorcycle to radio it in, before he executes all four riders with six shots from his service revolver. Finally, we see him doing his proper job of traffic control at the crime scene.
Harry, on the other hand, has on his
nightstand a picture of him with his wife now deceased two years.
Come to sit in a chair next to it is Sunny his first “young
lady friend” since. Then we'll get a mob pool party where a
party girl shows off her engagement ring. Then we'll see Harry's new
partner Earlington “Early” Smith (Felton Perry) real cozy
with his wife at the sharpshooter competition. Then Harry is
real affable with his long time friend Carol's children. Her ex, Harry's
friend Charlie McCoy (Mitchell Ryan) just went through this third
wife and now can't afford to retire on account of his support obligations.
And finally, Carmine's driver James “Gino” Cantina drives
the thing “like a baby carriage” (representing the empty
nest.) The whole world has vertical generational progressions,
except the rookie cop who has just got his same-generation cop buddies
glimpsed in picturers on his wall. “They stick together like
flypaper, you know? Everybody thought they were queer for
each other.”
There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.It works out thus in their minds:
A hundred years ago in this city, people did the same thing. History justified the vigilantes. We're no different. Anyone who threatens the security of the people will be executed. Evil for evil.
We're the first generation that's learned to fight. We're simply ridding society of killers that would have been caught and sentenced if our courts worked properly. We began with the criminals that the people knew so that our actions would be understood. It's not just a question of whether or not to use violence, there's simply no other way.
Harry Callahan: That's just fine, but how does murder fit in? You know, when police start becoming their own executioners, where's it gonna end? Huh—? Pretty soon, you'll start executing people for jaywalking, and executing people for traffic violations. Then you end up executing your neighbor 'cause his dog pisses on your lawn.
Production Values
“” (1973) was directed by Ted Post under the watchful eye of Clint Eastwood. The screenplay was written by John Milius and Michael Cimino, based on original material by Harry Julian Fink and R.M. Fink. It stars Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, and Mitchell Ryan. Eastwood did well as always and he had a strong supporting cast. The two hijackers were “dark and swarthy” men who acted like they meant business. Felton Perry as Harry's new (black) partner was not expected to survive long with him.
It was rated R as expected for a Dirty Harry flick. In 1973 sex was treated casually before STDs and other repercussions put the kibosh on unsafe practices. The bargain sets looked a bit slapdash but can be forgiven unless your aim is for visual elegance.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
MF is a welcome check on the rogue cop motif it emulates: “Dirty Harry” (1971,) “The Enforcer” (1976), “Sudden Impact” (1983,) and “The Dead Pool” (1989.) The movie is very dramatic yet easy to follow. Eastwood cuts a fine figure and in his practiced hand, the .44 Magnum is the ultimate revolver.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Edge of your seat action-packed. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
bibles.n7nz.org