On S List of Movie Reviews

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Sudden Impact (1983)

Rate: 9
Viewed: 5/04, 5/05, 10/07

SuddenImp
5/05: Well, well, well...the vintage Dirty Harry is back.

After two somewhat lackluster sequels, Sudden Impact is a fantastic movie with excellent writing that's sprinkled with lots of dry humor. It has a legendary scene that ends with a top ten line of all time as the camera zooms in on Clint Eastwood's face: "Go ahead. Make my day."

When asked about the dog, Dirty Harry asked, "Why? Do you want him?"

"Listen, punk. To me, you're nothing but dogshit, you understand? A lot of things can happen to dogshit. It can be scraped up with a shovel off the ground. It can dry up and blow away in the wind, or it can be stepped on and squashed. So, take my advice: be careful where the dog shits you."

"Inspector, your methods are unconventional to say the least. Oh, you get results. But often, your successes are more costly to this department in terms of expenses and physical destruction than most other men's failures."

All in all, Dirty Harry is the man.

10/07: Dirty Harry is at it again in Sudden Impact, the funniest picture of the franchise.

Looking better, meaner, and tougher, Clint Eastwood never runs out of great lines. There are plenty of dry humor throughout. In many ways, Dirty Harry can be considered as a hero. One, he cares about the victims. Two, he's willing to risk his life to right the wrongs even if it involves unorthodox methods. Three, he puts a lot of effort into his investigative skills to achieve results while keeping his theory in check. Four, he gets results when nobody is able to do so. Five, he will go after anyone and shove it down his throat.

Sondra Locke gives a decent performance, setting up the mood of the atmosphere. Paul Drake, a tanned Brando look-alike, isn't a bad villain but can use more screen time as opposed to Audrie J. Neenan. Most importantly, it's Clint Eastwood who steals the show.

All in all, Sudden Impact is the second best movie of the Dirty Harry franchise.