This sequel to Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry is a stealth remake of a controversial 1970s thriller

Clint Eastwood’s The Dark Dirty Harry sequence Sudden impact is actually a genre remake of a controversial 1974 hit. Dirty Harry is one of Clint Eastwood’s rare film franchises, but after the third entry in 1976, the star seemed to be done with the character. It was only when a Warner Bros poll revealed that audiences wanted Harry back that Clint returned for another sequel. This saw Harry in the case of a serial killer who shoots victims in both the groin and forehead, and while Sudden impact is famous for Harry’s”Make my day” catchphrase, is perhaps the darkest in the series.

Harry eventually discovers that the killer is artist Jennifer Spencer (Sondra Locke), who is tracking down and murdering the gang that assaulted her and her sister years earlier. While the Death Wish films and Taxi driver covered similar topics, Sudden impact It differs in that it is a studio film where it is a woman acting as a vigilante and avenging her own attack, rather than a “righteous” male character doing so. In truth, the film began as a solo project for Eastwood’s longtime romantic partner, Locke, before he had the script turned into a Dirty Harry history.

Dirty Harry Sequel Sudden Impact Remade Controversial 1974 Hit Death Wish

Charles Bronson’s Original Death Wish Remains Controversial Half a Century Later

Sudden impact also acts as a female-oriented remake of Death Wishthe vigilante thriller that turned Charles Bronson into a movie star. This cast Bronson as a mild-mannered architect whose wife and daughter are brutally attacked during a home invasion. Bronson’s Paul Kersey then takes out his fury on the streets of New York, roaming the night with a revolver looking for robbers to shoot. Many critics were horrified by Death wish message (although it is still classified as “Fresh” in Rotten tomatoes), feeling it was a power fantasy about a rich white man who feels empowered to shoot “bad guys”.

Oddly, the film never deals with Kersey tracking down the gang that attacked his family, which became the central hook for Sudden impact. This gives the story more narrative momentum, with Jennifer going through the group one by one. While Death Wish (and especially its sequels) reveled in Kersey shooting bad guys, there’s the sense that Jennifer is losing a piece of her soul with each murder – even if she still feels justified.

Still, some of the old fear of Bronson’s film is correct and present, like Jennifer being accosted by a gang of young Hispanic men early on. Again, Sudden impact is a complicated film, where Eastwood’s Harry punches and shoots a bunch of “punks,” but the underlying vigilante narrative is also too dark to be viewed as a cathartic action film.

Sudden Impact is the only Dirty Harry directed by Clint Eastwood

Eastwood was still heavily involved in the other Dirty Harry sequels

The original director of Dirty HarryDon Siegel, had no interest in a sequel, so subsequent follow-ups went to different managers. Curiously, Sudden impact is the only one Dirty Harry directed by Eastwood himself – which may explain why it’s the most distinctive out of the original. That said, the star would also have had a strong creative hand in the other installments, such as The Dead Pool. This means that, although they are not officially films directed by Clint Eastwood, he still had a huge influence on their formation.

Sudden impact came at a good time for Eastwood, who was coming off an underperformance as Firefox and Honkytonk Man. The sequel was also a considerable success, grossing over $67 million worldwide (via Mojo Box Office) and prove that the character Dirty Harry still had a lot of followers among the public. The film takes a harsher approach than the other sequels, both examining the long-term impact of Jennifer’s acts of violence while also thrilling to watch one-dimensional villains being surprised.

Part of the insight into violence that Eastwood would fully realize in Unforgivable appears in Sudden impactbut the demands of a Dirty Harry input means he yet You have to take a big magnum and punish the culprits in the end. In that regard, Eastwood is no stranger to a thrilling action shootout, and it can’t be denied that the death of vile gang leader Mick (Paul Drake) isn’t immensely satisfying.

Sudden Impact is the darkest entry in the Dirty Harry franchise

Sudden impact won’t make everyone’s day

Sudden impact it looks like two films joined together, explaining the way the disparate tones fight each other constantly. During the first half in San Francisco, Harry foils a robbery and gets involved in several shootouts – which is normal for a Dirty Harry film – while Jennifer’s subplot plays mostly in the background. Once these divergent stories meet and the film has to unravel the horror of Jennifer’s attack, it can no longer be treated as a guilty pleasure action thriller.

Calling Sudden impact the darkest of Dirty Harry series is no easy task, considering the original and Magnum Force they are both gritty and violent tales. Still, the fourth presentation makes it clear that there are no black and white answers; the guilty may go unpunished, while the quest for revenge may leave the avenger empty. This is also the only Dirty Harry where Eastwood’s character lets the “villain” go, deciding that after everything Jennifer has been through, she at least owes her a chance to rebuild her life. Different Death Wishthere is no indication that she will resume her vigilante habit.

Source: Rotten tomatoes, Mojo Box Office