Whereas many sequels are just glorified remakes, Magnum Force actually takes the Dirty Harry story in an interesting new direction, and is one of the too few instances where the sequel is better than the original. Dirty Harry centered on a psychopath killing innocent people. In Magnum Force, the villain is a faceless vigilante dressed as a biker cop who is killing far-from-innocent criminals.
As Inspector Harry Callahan, Eastwood is just as memorable in this film as in the original. Though still callous and stoic, Harry does soften-up enough to have a relationship with a lovely Japanese girl. Hal Holbrook is also superb as a despicably self-righteous bleeding-heart desk cop, who repeatedly castigates Harry for "police brutality" even though Harry actually gets results. It's also interesting to see David Soul, Tim Matheson and Robert Urich -- all before they were famous -- in supporting roles as rookie cops.
Lalo Schifrin's score is one of his best, a gritty, aggressive blend of jazz, rock 'n roll and edgy modern classical techniques. Unquestionably the best of all the Dirty Harry movies.
). Bland, made-for-70's-TV direction, uninteresting villains, rote action sequences...Schifrin's score is the best of the series, but the rest leaves a lot to be desired.
