Review of Dirty Harry (1971) by Jiwon L — 04 Aug 2010

Dirty Harry is a special police movie. It is not like other police movie that you have seen before. Besides, if you don?t like seeing blood spray everywhere, I recommend you not to watch this movie.

Things happened in San Francisco. A police inspector Harry Callahan, who is also called ?dirty Harry? is investigating a murder. The murderer called Scorpion is bloodless and cruel. Scorpion has killed three innocent people and one of them is a ten-year-old boy. Fortunately, Callahan catches him. However, the prosecutor releases Scorpion just for there is no sufficient evidence to prove his crime. As a result, another more horrible and bloody crime is coming.

In my opinion, Dirty Harry is similar to The Searchers to some degree. Both of movies searches for someone, but one is for a little girl and another one is for a bad guy. Besides, both of the main characters, Ethan and Callahan, have ethnocentrism and individualism. And both of them are antiheroes. However, I don?t like the way that Dirty Harry presents because it is too boring for me. When the movie starts, I feel really excited. But, in the middle of the movie, I just keep watching my watch and wish the movie can be over. I think that the most fascinated part of these kinds of police movies must be the process which the police capture the murderer. However, there is no fascinated part in the movie. I just see a group of stupid police officers capture a less stupid killer. Though the actors are good at acting, especially the actor acting as the killer, the story is terrible. It is illogical and unrealistic. For example, Callahan breaks two of his ribs but he still can walk and even run to chase the murderer. It is impossible. Fracturing ribs are pain and danger. Besides, at the beginning of the movie, Callahan figures out that the killer will go back to the building again and shoot a Father. Theoretically, after the killer goes to the top of the building, the building should be surrounded by the police not only Callahan. And they have to protect the Father. But in the movie, only Callahan without any police officers around.

If you like to watch acting, I recommend you to watch Dirty Harry. But if you want to enjoy the process of the police capture a killer, I recommend you not to watch this one. Because you will feel boring.