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Clint Eastwood wraps up his run as what is arguably his single most famous character (or maybe that The Man with No Name) in this entertaining thriller. This fifth entry in the Dirty Harry series also has the most interesting plot - on a popular horror film director's set a list of people, whom the players of a certain bizarre game expect to die, known as the "dead pool" starts to become too much of a reality as some of the mentioned people begin to die. Of course, soon enough a copy of the list surfaces with Harry's name on it.

For a what is a straight-forward thriller formula this film packs enough memorable moments to be enjoyed by more than just Dirty Harry fans. Jim Carrey appears, in a very early role, as a crazy rock star. Harry finds out that he might have met his match in terms of partners. Harry of for once actually hunted by a bad guy giving the film slightly more suspense than previous entries. Finally there is a crazy car chase where Harry and his partner are attempting to evade a remote control car. Meaning, yes, the hard as nails Detective Harry Callahan is flooring it to get away from a toy, but you see the toy has a bomb so it is not that Harry is getting soft all of a sudden.

Also there is the interesting notion here of a film becoming a bit "too real" as people on the Dead Pool actually start to die and the list is found on a film set. It was only a few years after this that Clint Eastwood put down his .44 Magnum and badass persona for good to a more realistic set of films that continue to this day. Clint might have become a bit more real, but he was still great when he was being slightly ridiculous. --- 8/10

BsCDb Classification: 13+ --- violence

Dirty Harry still has it. This film has all the mayhem, the violence, the wisecracks, the whole formula. Patricia Clarkson's delicate beauty is a good counterpoint to Eastwood's ruggedness. It was interesting to see actors like Neeson and Carrey paying their dues. When I first saw this film, I didn't realize that the "car chase" scene, running from the toy Corvette, was a spoof of Bullitt, but on viewing this time, I found the homage hilarious. No, this film isn't the equal of "Dirty Harry" but it's not bad at all for a fourth sequel.

Warning: Contains spoilers

The "Dirty Harry" series ends with a whimper thanks to a weak ending. Why conceal the identity of the killer when he turns out to be a subsidiary character who is built into the story in the last half hour?

Patricia Clarkson makes for a bland leading lady (despite a knockout figure) and has little chemistry with Eastwood. So, placing her in jeopardy creates no suspense. Also, having Harry surrender his legendary sidearm doesn't fit well with previous installments, since he has a clear head shot with the killer. Finally, having Harry find the harpoon gun shown in a previous scene is just a little too incredible.

Buddy Van Horn, as a director, is no Eastwood, but he does a pretty good job. Most of the stunts are quite good and the cinematography is excellent. Lalo Schifrin's score is bouncy, but forgettable.

Too bad, as a little script reworking would have made for a very good "Dirty Harry" effort. As it is, however, "The Dead Pool" is the weakest of the "Dirty Harry" series.

While this film was just pure entertainment, at least we got to see Dirty Harry doing what we all wanted to see him do: kick some serious ass. Sure, it seemed a little odd that a 60-year old man would be kicking the buts of guys of half his age, but isn't that what film is for: to escape reality? While this is somewhere in the middle in regards to the series as a whole, one cannot contend with the idea of Harry Callahan being one of the most endearing film characters ever made. A nice send-off to say the least.

Although I adore Don Seagle's Dirty Harry, I believe that this one is the silliest movie I have seen with Clint Eastwood in it. Everything in this movie bears the signs of the artificiality of what is called acting, directing, and script writing. I wonder what should be liked or enjoyed in this nonsensical piece of work. Comparing this one with other D. H. movies, one could consider it just like an underrated spaghetti western full of noise and shootings which stands against a classic western within which the sound of a single bullet shot vibrates throughout the whole movie. That's why Callahan's Magnum gives way to a silly weapon at the end of the movie because its overuse has already devalued the Magnum.

Unfortunately, a silly ending for a series that started with the one that turned into a classic.