Review of Sudden Impact (1983) by John P — 11 Oct 2012

In the American popular imagination, few cops are more famous, some would say infamous, than Clint Eastwood's 'Dirty' Harry Callahan. His scowling visage, magnum revolver, and gritty one-liners are among the images most associated with the big city homicide detective. When kids play cops and robbers, he's the kind of cop they imagine themselves as. And why not? The film that introduced him remains one of the best, and certainly most iconic action thrillers of the twentieth century. And like any movie to enjoy such success, it spawned a good number of sequels. None were as good as the original, but some came fairly close, and none closer than Sudden Impact.

That's not to say that Sudden Impact sticks the closest to the original formula. This is a great deal darker and more brooding than the previous entries in the series, and more violent. Not in the sense that there are more violent acts than in the earlier films; but that the acts themselves are more brutal. Besides the myriad shootings there's a part where Callahan punches a woman in the face, leaving her with a black eye and a bloody nose. There's an extended scene in which Callahan is kicked, stomped, and bludgeoned within an inch of his life. And there are multiple POV flashbacks to a gang rape that occurred years before.

And the dividing line between good and bad, right and wrong, isn't nearly as clear cut this time around. Inspector Callahan has always been willing to go beyond the letter of the law to see the guilty punished, but giving an old man a heart attack at his granddaughters wedding is really something even by his standards, even if the guy was a mob boss and the main suspect in a brutal murder. It's a point where you have to stop and ask yourself, "Has he gone too far this time?".

This same question is posed more strongly by the main storyline, which involves the victim of the aforementioned rape returning to gun down everyone involved. There's no question that what she's doing is cold blooded murder, or that it's Harry's job to stop her. But damned if she doesn't have a hell of a reason for wanting those people dead. And seeing how bitter and nasty some of them still are, it's hard not to sympathize with her. And it's inevitable that Harry will too.

Although many would disagree, I also felt that the aftermath of the violence isn't handled as cleanly and flippantly as before. True, no time is lost morning the dead, and the department lets Harry off much more easily than any real PD would. Yet so much of the violence and death here is a direct result of earlier violence. Of the many attempts on Harry's life, two are because of what he did to that old man, and a third is largely the result of him losing his temper earlier. And if it hadn't been for what happened one night under a boardwalk, seven people, one of them completely innocent, would still be alive.

Although the movie may not take the time to dwell on it, it seems that there's a cycle of violence underpinning the story. Every time someone kills or assaults someone, it begets further violence aimed at them, whether it's deserved or not. At the end there's finally an act of mercy and forgiveness, but even then I don't know if that was the right thing to do. I'm not sure that there was a right thing to do. And that's what I like about Sudden Impact. Though it may be composed of chases, shootouts, and one-liners, it's given me much to think about.