Review of Dirty Harry (1971) by Andrew G — 09 Sep 2009

One of the earliest entries in the "vigilante thriller" genre, and still a very potent one at that. Eastwood is the driving force in this film as a cop willing to cross any lines to dispense what he views as justice.

The moral implications of Eastwood's actions are not actively explored here, but that really isn't the purpose of the film. Instead it is meant to be an entertaining revenge story, which it succeeds with gloriously.

In his hunt for the notorious Scorpio Killer (who was obviously modeled after San Francisco's infamous Zodiac Killer), we get to walk through the procedural actions and faults of rough-edged cop Harry Callahan.

There are times we are repulsed by his actions, but at other times it seems he is the only cop within the context of the tale to take the actions necessary. Obviously this isn't to say such action is just, but the fact that the film resonates so strongly with so many people is certainly an interesting commentary of some sort.