Every Dirty Harry Movie Ranked

The Big Picture

• The Dirty Harry series highlighted Clint Eastwood’s prowess as a gritty anti-hero, with iconic one-liners and memorable characters.
• Magnum Force
  stood out with thought-provoking themes of police corruption, making Callahan question his own tactics.
• The original
  Dirty Harry
  set the tone for the series, focusing on a deadly chase and realism over crowd-pleasing action.

The legendary Clint Eastwood turns 94 this year, and with one of the longest careers in Hollywood, the filmmaker is finally beginning to settle down, with his upcoming film Juror No. 2 rumored to be the last of his career. It’s ironic that Eastwood’s retirement comes over thirty years after his film Unforgiven was released; the Western epic was seemingly the “summation” of all of his characters up until that point, but Eastwood continued to direct and act for another three decades.

Before he stepped behind the camera for the first time with Play Misty For Me, Eastwood gained international acclaim thanks to his breakout performance in Sergio Leone’s Man With No Name Trilogy — and it was hardly the last time he’d portray a grim, masochistic anti-hero. 1971’s Dirty Harry changed the course of action cinema with its gritty intensity. Compared to the lighter action farce that was popular in the ’60s, the Dirty Harry series grounded its depiction of true crime in reality. Eastwood’s character Harry Callahan became one of his most iconic characters, and he’s still associated with some of the hard-boiled detective’s most memorable one-liners.

Dirty Harry was followed by four sequels, and while it’s inevitable that every franchise will be rebooted at some point, it’s hard to imagine anyone being able to fill Eastwood’s shoes. Here are all five Dirty Harry movies, ranked worst to best.

5. The Dead Pool (1988)

Directed by Buddy Van Horn

While the original Dirty Harry stood out for its commitment to realism, the final film in the series pushed the franchise closer to absurdity. Callahan is known to make some smirky comments, but The Dead Pool is so focused on coining catchphrases that any semblance of stakes is absent. The film follows Callahan’s mission to hunt down a serial killer that targets prominent public figures, including himself. He’s also tasked with protecting the gossip journalist Samantha Walker (Patricia Clarkson).

At 91 minutes, The Dead Pool is light on any actual mystery. The film also goes to such exaggerated lengths to frame the music video director Peter Swan (Liam Neeson) as the culprit, that it’s obvious there will be a twist at some point. Even Eastwood seems boredby the eventual revelation. The Dead Pool isn’t unwatchable, as a memorable over-the-top performance by Jim Carrey at least makes it enjoyable, but it’s certainly the most forgettable in the Dirty Harry series.

4. The Enforcer (1976)

Directed by James Fargo

While the first two Dirty Harry films are certainly landmarks of action cinema, they’re first and foremost detective stories. Callahan was an engaging character because he was actually solving the case alongside the audience, and the films did a good job of blending suspense within the setpieces. This started to disappear by the third film, The Enforcer, which goes the shoot ’em up route instead.

The Enforcer focuses on Callahan’s search for the elusive crime boss Bobby Maxwell (DeVeren Bookwalter), and for the most part the “cat and mouse” premise is entertaining. By the third installment, Callahan’s initial sense of honor has become more implausible given the ruthlessness of the material, but the film does at least offer a different perspective. Callahan teams up with the new character, Inspector Kate Moore (Tyne Daly), and for once, one of his partners actually questions his worldview.

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3. Sudden Impact (1983)

Directed by Clint Eastwood

The fourth film in the Dirty Harry series was the only installment that Eastwood directed himself. Having already been in the director’s chair for over a decade, Eastwood had found his groove telling fast-paced stories with frequently disturbing material. While Sudden Impact is just as action-packed as The Enforcer, it’s by far the bloodiest installment. Eastwood was able to retain some gravitas to the series after The Enforcer pushed it further into camp.

Sudden Impact picks up with an older and more cynical Callahan, who for once somewhat sympathizes with his chief target. The con artist Jennifer Spencer (Sondra Locke) takes vengeance on a gang of traffickers that committed horrible acts of violence against her, and Callahan can empathize with her desire for justice. The sexual politics and depiction of assault haven’t aged well, but it was a more mature theme to tackle that indicated Eastwood’s ambitious aspirations as a filmmaker.

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2. Magnum Force (1973)

Directed by Ted Post

It was honestly a fairly difficult decision as to which film would take the top spot in this list. Magnum Force is an excellent neo-noir crime thriller, and tackles prevalent themes of police corruption and conspiracy. Although the later entries in the series used Callahan’s conflicts with authority for comic relief, Magnum Force put him up against the systemic coverup within the San Francisco Police Department. He’s always been a maverick, but for once, Callahan actually felt like an outsider within his profession. The sharp script by Apocalypse Now and Conan the Barbarian scribe John Milius is the most thoughtful of the five films.

Callahan begins tracking down a group of vigilante cops that enact their own, cruel form of “justice,” and as he uncovers the violent abuse of the badge, Callahan is forced to question his own tactics. As he weighs deeper into the conspiracy, Callahan discovers that the entire force he’s dedicated his life to is facing serious questions of legitimacy, and his entire career may have been in vain. Hal Holbrook delivers a genuinely terrifying performance as the villainous insider Lieutenant Neil Briggs, and his dramatic background made Briggs a cut above the “villain-of-the-week” style antagonists of the other sequels.

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1. Dirty Harry (1971)

Directed by Don Siegel

As underrated as Magnum Force is, it can’t quite match the impact of the original classic. Dirty Harry doesn’t completely absolve Callahan’s behavior or lionize his worldview; it simply puts him on a deadly chase to take down the best villain of the series, the sniper Scorpio (Andrew Robinson). Scorpio’s precise assassinations are methodically incorporated throughout, and the film doesn’t sensationalize the acts of realistic violence for the sake of being a crowd-pleaser.

Dirty Harry was directed by Don Siegel, a Hollywood veteran whose acclaimed filmography includes the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Escape From Alcatraz, and The Shootist. Siegel takes time to develop Callahan’s worldview, and explores his frustrations with inaction when Scorpio threatens innocent civilians. While all the films are products of the era in which they were released, Dirty Harry has more in common with the gritty New Hollywood crime dramas like Dog Day Afternoon and Serpico than it does any star vehicle.