Buddy Van Horn's The Dead Pool is a thoroughly entertaining film that sees Dirty Harry Callahan return to rid the streets of San Francisco of a serial killer picking off local celebrities as part of a twisted contest referred to as a "dead pool." The film has inventive action scenes (the best being a Bullitt-style car chase between Callahan and a toy car packed with C4), memorable characters (including Callahan's new Asian-American partner who miraculously survives the film), and some clever lines. And yet, I have to be a stick in the mud again: The Dead Pool isn't really a Dirty Harry film. Instead, it's a regular cop film that just so happens to star Dirty Harry. Subplots concerning Harry's new-found celebrity status are underdeveloped and there is very little moral ambiguity surrounding the villains, their motives, and the methods Callahan uses to stop them. The closest The Dead Pool comes to an ethical gray area concerns another sub-plot involving Callahan's new girlfriend, a reporter who struggles with her personal principles versus her desire to get a hot story no matter what it takes. But even this sub-plot is abandoned in the third act. So, ultimately, The Dead Pool may not be a Dirty Harry movie. But it still manages to be enjoyable.
7/10
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