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The Enforcer (1976)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 1/05, 10/07, 1/26

Enf
10/07: If anybody thinks Clint Eastwood belongs in the Comedy Hall of Fame, I'll second it.

He continues to carve an icon out of Dirty Harry in The Enforcer by refusing to negotiate with criminals, following his own policy of "shoot first, ask later," and saying things that are outlandish. There's one great scene which shows him making most of his unorthodox methods to achieve results by ramming a car into the liquor store to squash the hostage situation. That will never happen in real life, but it's funny.

On the other hand, Tyne Daly is nothing special and thus not necessary. Thanks to Clint Eastwood's enormous popularity as Dirty Harry, the success of The Enforcer is primarily responsible for making the next two much better sequels happen: Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool.

All in all, The Enforcer provides a soft fix for Dirty Harry fans, but it's rather forgettable.

1/26: Prior to watching The Enforcer, I remember nothing about it except for Tyne Daly.

Clint Eastwood barely does anything. He might as well be a wallpaper. How about that villain? What a nobody! And a lightweight at that. When he dragged the mayor up to the tower and Harry Callahan was aiming the LAW rocket toward it, I was like, "Really? The mayor is too close and will be killed." Of course, there's a bit of cheat in the editing to allow him to survive that.

Tyne Daly is too weird, even more so when she made sexual connections to buildings, and I don't like her. When she was shot dead at the end, I didn't care and said, "That's par for the course when it comes to Dirty Harry's partners." By the way, John Mitchum is actually Robert Mitchum's younger brother; it's easy to tell the resemblance.

All in all, although quick, The Enforcer is the least memorable of the Dirty Harry franchise.