Sudden Impact

Growing up watching westerns, I will always associate Clint Eastwood with the genre, most notably his spaghetti westerns with Italian director Sergio Leone.  He of course is known for any number of other things, including become an Oscar-winning director as he started working behind the camera instead of in front of it.  So while I picture him as the Man With No Name, a roaming gunfighter looking to make a buck, ask another fan and you will probably get a completely different answer depending on the fan.

Name Eastwood's most famous character over the course of his career, and I'd bet 8 or 9 people out of 10 would say Dirty Harry instead, San Francisco homicide detective Harry Callahan.  It's easy to understand why as Eastwood created one of the most recognizable, iconic characters in movie history with this tough as nails police officer who does things his way, procedure and laws be screwed. Starting with 1971's Dirty Harry, Eastwood played Callahan five times, the fourth effort coming with 1983's Sudden Impact after a seven-year break since 1976's The Enforcer.

Working a case with Mafia connections, San Francisco homicide detective Harry Callahan (Eastwood) is up to his usual shenanigans.  He meets a mob boss in public and berates him, the boss actually dying of a heart attack.  His superiors are sick of his troublesome attitude and complete disregard for procedures and the laws, assigning him to a case in the tiny, seemingly peaceful coastal town of San Paulo involving a brutal murder where the victim was shot in the crotch and in the forehead. Callahan sees a connection with his case though as more bodies start to mount up. A victim of a vicious gang rape 10 years earlier, Jennifer Spencer (Sondra Locke), has returned, killing off the men who raped her. No one thinks much of his hunch though, meaning Callahan is on his own...as usual. Criminals watch out because here comes Dirty Harry.

The threat with any series/franchise is the proceedings getting stale at a certain point. Like any series, Dirty Harry doesn't always keep up the momentum. The first two movies of five -- Dirty Harry and Magnum Force -- are a cut above the last three, but that doesn't mean they aren't good movies...just not as good.  In terms of story, this has to be the darkest of the five, a rape victim gunning for her rapists.  With Eastwood directing though, I think too much time was spent on Locke's Jennifer character. By the last 30-45 minutes of the movie, the story focuses more on Jennifer than on Harry.  Credit to Eastwood girlfriend and underrated actress Sondra Locke for bringing her character to life, but I watch these movies for Dirty Harry above all else.

That is what is so appealing about vigilante movies like this, even if Callahan's vigilantism is toned down a bit here.  In his world, there are no shades of gray. There is black and white, good and bad, and if you can't pick a side, Callahan will pick one for you.  As a veteran inspector, he's just sick of the countless crimes he sees around him. He always gets his guy -- sometimes stretching the limits of the law to do so -- only to see the system let the bad guys back on the street. The bad guys here are ridiculously evil, not a human bone or redeeming quality in sight. The rapists include Paul Drake as the psychotic Mick, Audrie Neenan, and Jack Thibeau. This is a Dirty Harry movie that's tired of bosses, superiors, and all-around tools so the uppity-ups include Pat Hingle as the San Paulo police chief, and Bradford Dillman and Michael Currie as his San Fran bosses. If we've learned anything from these movies though, it's that Dirty Harry doesn't do well when told what to do.

This isn't a great cop movie regardless of who the main character is.  It starts off on a great note, the first 30 minutes full of energy, action and one-liners as Eastwood has some fun with the character, delivering the iconic 'Go ahead, make my day' line when stopping a robbery in progress. Watch that scene HERE. The remaining 90 minutes are far from boring, but they have the feel of being phoned in.  It lacks the energy that the first half hour has.  The movie is at its best when Eastwood is front and center. At different points, Harry takes on the mob, chases a suspect by driving a retirement home bus, practices with his cannon of a Magnum pistol, and hangs out with his bulldog, Meathead.  Albert Popwell plays Horace, a friend on the force, while Mark Keyloun has a good supporting part as Bennett, a young San Paulo officer working with Callahan. Overall, the character has become more of a caricature of itself as opposed to an even somewhat realistic character.

Still, all things consider, it's Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry, and it's hard to pass that up. There is something simple and perfect in terms of entertainment value watching Callahan lose his mind and take his anger out on any crook stupid enough to tangle with him. There is no question that in the end he will get his man, just how and when.  Sudden Impact doesn't bring anything new to the procedural cop drama or the Dirty Harry series, but it is a solid if unspectacular (and still entertaining) movie, mostly because Clint Eastwood is still and always will be cooler than anyone and everyone.

Sudden Impact <---trailer (1983): ** 1/2 /****