Product ReviewsMagnum Force (DVD, 2001, Clint Eastwood Collection)

As Long As The Right People Get Shot

"Magnum Force" is the best of the original three Dirty Harry movies
(the others being "Dirty Harry" and "The Enforcer").
The original "Dirty Harry" is a minor classic urban police drama,
but this movie has a better plot and more gravitas as a result.

I love the opening credits with the hand holding the legendary
Smith and Wesson blued model 29 .44 magnum long barrel revolver.
It is no longer "the most powerful handgun in the world",
but it will certainly stop anything a police officer would
need to stop.

The music, cinematography, and acting are excellent.
It is every bit as good as the the first film in that respect
and much better in others.
I think that the acting is better, the story-telling
relies less on the novelty of Inspector Harry Callahan
of San Francisco Homicide Division's personality
and relies less on exploiting the pop culture politics
of it's time (early 1970's)
while retaining a definite place in that time.
It stands the test of time better than the other two.

There is a vigilante on the loose,
someone Harry, who has no problem with shooting
"as long as the right people get shot",
might be thought to have some spiritual kinship with.
The vigilante is not enforcing the law or defending the innocent,
but rather executing known hard-core law-breakers,
people who are arguably guilty of crimes deserving of death.
The vigilantes are police officers, four of them,
convinced that their actions are justified because
the courts are not doing their job to protect the people
and preserve social order.

This is a great set-up for an interesting study
of the nature of crime and justice
and the somewhat subtle difference in one aspect
and vast difference in another between
Inspector Callahan's methods and those of the vigilantes.

The weakness in the plot is that the death squad vigilantes
also murder innocent people as well,
accepting them as collateral damage that their mission
might continue unhindered.
This subverts the argument about the difference between
civil law enforcement and vigilantism that makes the movie
intellectually interesting because the "vigilantes"
are now simply mass-murderers and there is no question
that they are harmful and must be stopped.

Too bad, but not too too bad because the movie still remains
a great action movie with some very scary villains
that Inspector Callahan must deal with.
I think you can guess how he deals with them,
but surprisingly, without his .44 Magnum or any gun.

Great police drama and great action movie
with a 70's thing going on:
cars, music, hair styles and clothes.Read full review...

Rogue Cops KILL for their own kind of "justice"~VG~

PLOT: rogue "cops" execute CRIMINALS who manage to avoid arrest ~ lots of big stars in early roles~ SECOND IN THE DIRTY HARRY SERIES~ VG~

SECOND IN THE DIRTY HARRY SERIES~ Eastwood is back~Rogue cops decided they need to "solve" the problem of criminals escaping justice~ they simply execute them~ when a MOB boss is shot under the eyes of the police watching him~ and my favorite is the PIMP who is blasted away in his GREAT pink PIMP car~ because he "offered the cop a bribe" are part of the fun~ the cops with a "cause" are Tim Matheson~ David Soul ~ and Robert Ulrich in early roles~ who KILL with out blinking an eye~ The group has a "hero"....Harry~ but soon Harry figures it out~ who~ but a great TWIST involving Hal Holbrook his boss is added~ lots of "fire power'~TAGLINE IS "a man has got to know his limitations~" this is a very good movie but Dirty Harry is by far the better of the first two movies~ also see THE GAUNTLET~I GIVE MAGNUM FORCE 4 OUT OF 5~ WORTH THE WATCH FOR THE GREAT PINK PIMP CAR ALONE~

IF YOU FOUND THIS REVIEW HELPFUL PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE~Read full review...

Magnum Force

This is Classic Eastwood, It is also fun to see Some Other Fresh new faces you will recognise in there, I Love the Show I Have to say Hated to see the Co-Stars play such crappy parts, And it was Nice to See Hard nose Hal. Get his due in the End, P.S. Sonny is Not to bad, ha ha ha If your an Eastwood Fan~~~ It is a Must, If not You Just Wouldn't Understand, Remember~~~~ This is set in the 1970's Life was Different then, We Just took care of Stuff, You will love The other Eastwood Classics, Dirty Harry, is a must. The Enforcer, The Gautlet, Where Eagles dare, Kellys Heros . Thunderbolt and Lightfoot!!Get them all and a Box of POPCORN, Enjoy ther weekend,Read full review...

MAGNUM FORCE (DVD, 2001)

In this installment of the Dirty Harry Trilogy Harry has been pulled off Homicide and is working every lousy job there. The reason is that he is just too violent, blowing away too many creeps. Now all of a sudden, there seems to be something else at play. Bad guys, dirt bags, and gangsters are beginning to get knocked off in droves. The cops are at a loss, and have no clues. Callahan has another theory; he thinks that it's cops doing the killing. He identifies a group of rookie motorcycle cops who are all best friends and are all excellent shots. They always seem to be in the right place when something happens. He thinks somebody has put together a group that is out to get the bad guys in any way possible, legal or otherwise. Problem is, they are deciding who the bad guys are. Harry winds up shutting this operation down, and straightening out their boss. This was an entertaining picture, and everybody was happy to see the bad guys get theirs, but it was too predictable.Read full review...

Sorry? This DVD will be saved for Clint Eastwood!

9/21

Dear Sir or Madam:

This one will go to Clint Eastwood and Sandra Locke. Clint is getting up there in his early 90's.
I bought it for Clint. Had one on Sandra Locke. SUPER DVD TOO!

Thank You For Selling It To ME! No Damage to over-sized packet. Taped really nice and "DO
NOT BEND" was on it too.

Once Again Thank You!

Sincerely Yours,

Ron Denman
Bend, Ore.

Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: second.sale

magnum action

Favorite of the "Dirty Harry" series. Could not tell until past halfway who was doing the shootings. Even Eastwood wasn't sure for a while. Good realistic special effects and chilling suspenseful music added much to the enjoyment.
I already had it on tape but wanted the DVD version for my permanent library.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: knordakkid

Movie Fan

For Clint Eastwood fans and also Others you will Love this Action Drama DVD , If the law fails to
work then the force must do the job to clean out the garbage from our cities. I Highly Recommend <br>this DVD to All a Must see , Be well friends and stay United. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: merchants_of_media

It's an awesome movie

Actually I never opened this as I found I already had a copy in my collection... now what to do with it... might just give it to a friend.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: mcdawg81

Magnum Force

The second of the five Dirty Harry movies, Magnum Force finds
Clint Eastwood revisiting his career-making turn as a tough as
nails detective who makes his own rules. A rogue cop is enforcing>vigilante justice by assassinating several criminals who manage
to escape punishment by slipping through legal loopholes, and
Harry is on the case. David Soul plays one of the rookie cops
that carrys out the assassinations with three other rookie partners.
They of course are sacrificed or brought to Harrys 'justice' when
he finds out about it and starts to look for the leader of the
vigilantes. Ted Post directed this movie and although he did most
of his directing on the TV (Gunsmoke Season 1, Combat season 1 & 2,
etc) this movie is one of several he has done that have been very
good--Hang em High another Eastwood movie and Go Tell the Spartans
with Burt Lancaster being examples. This one will be enjoyed by
action movie lovers as well as classic movies devotees, and will
supply a good evenings entertainment to most people.Read full review...

Magnum Force

Just wanted it to complete collection as my original copy was damaged.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: hybridthrifts