Sudden Impact (1983)

The 4th edition in this franchise and Harry's troubles with his superiors continue as his methods bring results but, with extreme physical destruction and bad PR for the police department. He is ordered to move out of San Francisco but circumstances cause him to move to San Paulo to investigate a murder perpetrated by a lady painter called Jennifer Spencer. She wants to settle scores with a bunch of rogues for raping her and her sister 10 years back.

She goes about killing one by one in a set pattern - with one shot in the genitals. Harry comes to know that Jennifer is the killer but, he helps her complete her revenge mission in the end. His soft corner for her added to her mission and his own belief of justice make him let her go scot-free

This movie is entertaining to say the least. Clint is visibly old but the spunk and fire in his dialogs stay the same. The legendary dialog from the first edition of the movie was sorely missed inspite of a nice situation being setup for that dialog. Sondra Locke is the typical damsel in distress fighting for her mission.

VERDICT: Another entertaining addition to the Dirty Harry franchise

The Enforcer (1976)

This time Harry has to protect SF city against a bunch of militants who are supposed to be Vietnam war veterans. There are hookers, pimps etc. who are involved in this gang.

Harry gets a female partner Kate with whom he isn't very enthusiastic about working with. But, she is earnest and puts in the required effort and earns Harry's respect.

Harry's troubles with his seniors and his absolute contempt for needless stunts, rules and protocol is apparent in this part too.

Clint Eastwood is in top form in a very smart avatar. His dialogs are casual yet pack a lot of punch. Oozing style as always. Tyne Daly as Kate is very cute and endearing. Her combination scenes with Harry are very entertaining. Sparks fly.

The soundtrack and photography are awesome as with the first two parts. There is one nice running chase sequence as well

VERDICT: Justice in typical Harry style. A better movie compared to the 2nd part.

Magnum Force (1973)

There are a bunch of cops on motorcycles who keep bumping off anti-social elements in SF city, one by one. They take the law into their own hands. Harry calls them the death squad within the police force.

Though Harry bends the rules, he always upholds the law. He manages to find out the people who are part of this shady group and succeeds in getting rid of them.

In this part, Harry also does some other routine police work like preventing a hijack and burglary, all in his own inimitable style. The ladies also seem to have an eye for him as evidenced by two women showing an interest in him.

His troubles with his higher authorities continue in this movie as well. That's the USP of the man. The antagonists look terrific in their motorcycles but their moves against Harry aren't great.

There are some smart one-liners, breathtaking cinematography and a pulsating BG score like the first part. The climax somehow seems long drawn-out and lacks that solid punch.

There are some solid chase sequences where the use of dupes for Clint seem obvious at certain places.

VERDICT: Lacks the punch of the first part. The antagonists are also not as imposing. 

Dirty Harry (1971)

Inspector Harry Callahan is hot on the trail of a psychotic serial killer with a penchant for using the sniper. The killer calls himself Scorpio. Harry is always given the shit end of the stick and all the dirty cases come to him. He doesn't regard the law and silly rules. Justice is what he covets. The methods he uses piss off his higher-ups but Harry doesn't care. Service to the citizens is of utmost importance to him. He succeeds in getting rid of the killer with great difficulty and he is sure that will be suspended from the force, as well.

A really pioneering movie as there have been countless cop movies all over the world following this pattern. Of course, in Indian films, there would be a romantic track for the cop. But, here Harry is a widower. His bonding with his partner Chico is his only humane side.

The movie has some breathtaking aerial shots of SF and the BG score is terrific & lifts the movie considerably. Andy Robinson as the killer has gone through considerable physical pain for this role and his manic tendencies must have inspired the Joker from TDK as well.

Ultimately it's a Clint Eastwood heroic fest. His punchline is legendary and it's likely that this series was made keeping only Clint in mind. After being the cowboy in some Western movies, Clint plays the cop with the same ease and style.

VERDICT: An even match between a flamboyant cop and a terror-inducing serial killer. MUST WATCH