the fresh films reviews

S I N C E   1 9 9 7









 

Sudden Impact (1983)

Preceded by: The Enforcer (1976)
Succeeded by: The Dead Pool (1988)

Director:
Clint Eastwood
COUNTRY
USA
GENRE
Action/Crime
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Sudden Impact
RUNNING TIME
117 minutes
Producer:
Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter:
Joseph Stinson


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Harry Callahan Clint Eastwood ½
Jennifer Spencer Sondra Locke
Chief Lester Jannings Pat Hingle
Captain Briggs Bradford Dillman
Mick Paul Drake ½
Horace King Albert Popwell
Ray Parkins Audrie J. Neenan

 

Review

In the only entry in the Dirty Harry series directed by Clint himself, Harry Callahan finds himself in pursuit of a seemingly sexually motivated serial killer, of course while at the same time battling his superiors over protocol and methods. The latter has become tediously repetitive by now, but the main plot line, which is told from the perspective of Sondra Locke's character, has a crude Hitchcockian quality. This obvious nod to the master of suspense is Eastwood's best achievement in an otherwise often stupidifying film. Harry Callahan himself no longer seems to be on a mission to serve and protect; he's just a crooked cop rebelling against authorities and protocol – or normal police work, if you like. And Clint's increasingly wooden acting makes him lifeless to boot. The same can be said about his interplay with real-life partner Sondra Locke. They seem to be on completely different wavelengths. The only player adding some zest here is Paul Drake as the main villain, but as with the rest of the bad guys, he is wildly over the top – probably as a defence mechanism in order to not really deal with the jungle of personality disorders they harbour. The film's best asset: yet another evocative jazzy score from Lalo Schifrin.

Copyright © 12.11.2017 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

[BACK TO INDEX]

[HAVE YOUR SAY]