"Dirty Harry" was a trend-setter for action films. However, when those trends include one-dimensional characters and gratuitous nudity the term trend-setter loses some of its lustre.
I've seen a lot of action films over the years but I began tiring of them in my teens, mainly because I realized that if you've seen a handful of them then you've seen just about everything that the genre has to offer. That is simply because nine times out of ten one action film is just a knockoff of a better one. This movie might have been a breath of fresh air back in 1971 but today it's just a cliché factory. Granted, it's not the filmmakers fault that countless others shamelessly copied their formula; I just feel that it wasn't a formula worth copying in the first place.
The 'good' and 'bad' guys are unmistakable here. There's the no-nonsense cop pitted against the deranged serial killer. Never mind any glimpse into why Harry is so bent on justice or why Scorpio is intent on mindless destruction. As I said, the characters are completely one-dimensional; it's standard 'good guy' versus 'bad guy', with no more depth than that. Don't be fooled by the film's reputation, this is just another shallow action flick.
The film's production values are pretty good, though. Don Siegel's direction is well-handled overall and is certainly above the usual action flick caliber. The score by Lalo Schifrin also has a funky, early seventies flavor. The acting is passable, though Eastwood's iconic performance is as one-note as it gets.
I would recommend this film only to see what kind of impact it had on later films. Many, many mindless action flicks owe their inspiration to "Dirty Harry" but this is one case where the original is little better than the imitators.
I've seen a lot of action films over the years but I began tiring of them in my teens, mainly because I realized that if you've seen a handful of them then you've seen just about everything that the genre has to offer. That is simply because nine times out of ten one action film is just a knockoff of a better one. This movie might have been a breath of fresh air back in 1971 but today it's just a cliché factory. Granted, it's not the filmmakers fault that countless others shamelessly copied their formula; I just feel that it wasn't a formula worth copying in the first place.
The 'good' and 'bad' guys are unmistakable here. There's the no-nonsense cop pitted against the deranged serial killer. Never mind any glimpse into why Harry is so bent on justice or why Scorpio is intent on mindless destruction. As I said, the characters are completely one-dimensional; it's standard 'good guy' versus 'bad guy', with no more depth than that. Don't be fooled by the film's reputation, this is just another shallow action flick.
The film's production values are pretty good, though. Don Siegel's direction is well-handled overall and is certainly above the usual action flick caliber. The score by Lalo Schifrin also has a funky, early seventies flavor. The acting is passable, though Eastwood's iconic performance is as one-note as it gets.
I would recommend this film only to see what kind of impact it had on later films. Many, many mindless action flicks owe their inspiration to "Dirty Harry" but this is one case where the original is little better than the imitators.