(Spoilers Ahead)
I like to think that the pitch meeting for James Fargo's The Enforcer went something like this:
Producer: How about a third Dirty Harry film?
Studio Executive: I dunno...
Producer: But this time...he has a female partner!
Studio Executive: SOLD!!
I joke, but the fact that Dirty Harry Callahan is paired with a female partner is honestly the most memorable thing about The Enforcer. Whereas the first two Dirty Harry films were searing indictments of violence in American society, The Enforcer plays like a much more standard cop drama. When a group of revolutionaries fighting for a vague, unclear cause (obviously modeled after the Symbionese Liberation Army) begin a reign of terrorism in San Fransisco, Harry Callahan must get to the bottom of their illegal activities and stop them from fulfilling their ultimate objective: the kidnapping of San Francisco's mayor. But he is also given a new partner: an inexperienced rookie named Kate Moore. Her whole story arc can be summed up as such: she has to earn the respect of her partner and her department in spite of her gender. And to be honest, Tyne Daly does a fantastic job as Moore. But the film's attempts at feminism are spoiled somewhat by her dramatic death in the final act. I know that much of Callahan's pathos comes from the fact that all of his partners end up either dead or disabled. But Moore's death devalues her accomplishments as a female cop by suggesting that the only guaranteed method by which females can prove their worth as police officers is martyrdom. But suspect gender politics aside, The Enforcer simply isn't as memorable as the other films in the Dirty Harry franchise. The villains are forgettable, there are no instantly memorable action set pieces, and Clint Eastwood's performance as Callahan seems tired and phoned in. There is, after all, an important distinction between stoicism and boredom.
6/10
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