Review of The Dead Pool (1988) by Jake C — 20 May 2018
A peculiar and uneasy tonal clash that never quite decides whether its aiming for tension and suspense or black comedy. On the former level, in the tradition of the other Dirty Harry movies, it fails pretty spectacularly, never rising above a trite repetition of the action cliches its original did so well to codify.
Yet as a clever spoof of its own series and as a metacommentary on the then-burgeoning action-comedy genre, the movie has the kick of a Magnum to it. Explosively angry police chief? Absurd SF car chase? Over-the-top and ridiculously monstrous villain? When it takes aim at itself, the movie is firing on all cylinders-too bad they're ultimately generic blanks, then.
This review of The Dead Pool (1988) was written by Jake C on 20 May 2018.
The Dead Pool has generally received mixed reviews.
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