When a young rape victim takes justice into her own hands and becomes a serial killer, it's up to Dirty Harry Callahan, on suspension from the SFPD, to bring her to justice.
It is viewed by many aficionados as the best of the five movies about the hard-nosed, authority-defying San Francisco cop.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
30 Apr 2009
fresh:
This is the first entry in the series to have been directed by Eastwood himself, and action is put over with great force, if also with some obviousness.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
26 Mar 2009
fresh:
To all those cowboy movies we saw in our youth, all those TV Westerns and cop dramas and war movies, Dirty Harry has brought a great simplification: A big man, a big gun, a bad guy and instant justice.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
rotten:
By my count, more than a dozen people are murdered on camera, about half by Miss Locke and most of the others by Mr. Eastwood. This gives them something in common as lovers.
– Vincent Canby,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
rotten:
Eastwood the star needed a hit to bolster his flagging ratings; now that he's got it, maybe Harry will be put out to stud, with his Magnum.