Lumsdal
Good , But It Is Overrated By Some
ChicDragon
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Rosie Searle
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
adonis98-743-186503
Dirty Harry Callahan must stop a sick secret contest to murder local celebrities, which includes himself as a target. The Dead Pool is definitely better than it gets credit for and once again Clint Eastwood was just awesome (that ending was badass admit it), Patricia Clarkson did a pretty good job as the reporter and i really liked both Liam Neeson and even Jim Carrey in a role unlike anything he is usually known for. The Dirty Harry Franchise is action at it's best and also Clint Eastwood keeps proving again and again that in the end? Age is truly just a small, pathetic and forgettable zero number. (10/10) (A+)
ferbs54
Just watched another one that I had never seen before: the 5th and final entry in the Dirty Harry series, "The Dead Pool" (1988); the only one in this classic series that I had not previously experienced. In this one, a serial killer has been eliminating famous celebrities, one by one, from the "dead pool" betting list of the title. Harry Callahan himself appears on that list, which makes finding the wacko/psycho guilty of these crimes a bit more personal for him than usual. The No. 1 suspect is apparently a sleazy horror director, well played by Liam Neeson. (The star of this director's latest production, a heroin junkie/rock idol played by the young Jim Carrey, here billed as "James Carrey," had been the first victim of this kill list.) Soon, a pretty TV reporter (Patricia Clarkson) gets involved in the case, as well. This film is perhaps the least of the five Dirty Harry films but still provides much in the way of action and food for thought. The picture's highlight is most certainly the car chase that transpires toward the end, in which Harry and his Chinese partner are chased through the San Francisco streets by a bomb-carrying, remote-controlled mini toy car, in a sequence that is most likely a homage to the classic car chase in "Bullitt." Clint Eastwood is effortlessly cool as the film's lead character, and does get to deliver any number of amusing lines. My favorite such comes when he is about to shoot the psycho at the film's end with a tremendous harpoon cannon: "You're out of bullets...which means you're sh_t out of luck!" Director Buddy Van Horn does a very nice job at keeping things moving along here, and in all, the film looks great and is fairly satisfying...although it is perhaps best that the producers called it quits with Dirty Harry right here....
connorbbalboa
To start off this review, I'd just like to say that I'm getting weary of watching so many film series that start off good, but continue pointlessly and decline over time. The Rocky and Rambo series are two examples of this in my eyes. I really don't think that Rocky needed any sequels, but somehow most of them turned out to be good. But if it wasn't for Rocky Balboa and Creed that came out in recent years, I'd say that the franchise overstayed its welcome and ended poorly with both Rocky IV and V. In terms of the Rambo series, the only one that is genuinely good is the original film called First Blood. The rest of the series is so different in tone and what the message is (although Part 2 tried to follow up on the original's Vietnam War themes). Even though Rambo (2008) is better than Rambo III at least, it mixed a serious tone with ridiculous moments like Rambo surviving a nuke with a pretentious moral argument with some missionaries saying that violence isn't the answer that didn't always work. Now we come to the Dirty Harry series, where besides the original, most of the films that came after were at least watchable and tried to expand on the character of Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan. Not this film, though.The plot for the this entry is probably the stupidest of all of them. Having gained more fame than ever before, Harry becomes involved in this game called the Dead Pool, where numerous people in the entertainment business try to guess which celebrities will die next. Harry sees that he is on the list, and hence a whodunit search is made with film director Peter Swan (Liam Neeson) as a primary suspect. Along the way, he pursues a glossed-over romance with reporter Samantha Walker (Patricia Clarkson).The first thing to note about this film is that it is terribly unsubtle about addressing the controversies of film violence and how it may affect people in real life. A lot of the characters, including Swan, talk about it the way film critics and filmmakers would talk about it in documentaries, and all of these references don't have any real agenda, other than to try to be smart, which it isn't; even one of the celebrities who is murdered is supposed to represent famed critic Pauline Kael, who said the first Dirty Harry was "fascist". Even Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives did a better job of blending its referential humor about horror films into the story. Also, as I already mentioned, the romance between Harry and Sam is very quickly glossed over and doesn't get a lot of focus; the romance is also terribly shallow. Sam looks like she just wants to get into Harry's pants and Harry just seems to think that Sam is good-looking.Even the villain is terribly realized, with a twist that comes at the last minute as to who is really killing these celebrities. The motivation of the villain isn't even enough to forgive it. It seems that besides the first Dirty Harry, the only film in the series that actually had great villains was Magnum Force, because the villains in that movie were basically Harry and his philosophies about upholding the law taken to the extreme. The villains in each of the films afterwards just seemed to be a poor man's Scorpio (the killer from the first film) and just act really crazy. To make a great villain, you need much more.Also, while Sudden Impact, the previous film in the series directed by Eastwood, managed to blend together the grittiness of the 70s and the action and mood of the 80s, the 80s side takes over completely, with its references to drug use and over-the-top violence. As a result, this does not feel like a Dirty Harry film, but more like an 80s action film that stars Eastwood, who just happens to be playing Harry Callahan.One thing I will say I like is that Harry is finally recognized as a guy who actually gets the job done, despite using brute force. After four films of Harry having to listen to the complaints of his superiors about being too excessive on the job, it seemed that people were finally making sense about what Harry has done. At the same time, it takes away from the tension between Harry, the cop who will go the extra mile to get things done, and the public, that thinks his philosophies are outdated and undemocratic. In fact, there is no theme about the rights of the accused like in the other films. Harry just gets into trouble with the bad guys and his superiors complain, like it's any other cop movie. There's also an anti-press message, but like the romance, it's glossed over.To conclude, The Dead Pool is the worst of the Dirty Harry films and results in making another film series go one film too long. There was no point in making the film and it doesn't advance Harry's character or the series in any way.
ivo-cobra8
The Dead Pool (1988) is Clint Eastwood's most underrated and the fifth final flick in the "Dirty Harry" series. I love this movie and I think is better than The Enforcer. It is one of my personal favorite action movies of all time. It is the last Dirty Harry movie and it is well done with action sequences and great music opening theme. This was the third film I saw in my youth as a child. The first and the second movie were Dirty Harry and Magnum Force. I grew up with this film. The scene where Rook (David Hunt) kills with a knife Walker's (Patricia Clarkson) cameraman scares the hell out of me. Evan C. Kim as Al Quan also did a great solid job Harry's partner since than I don't see him in the film business anymore. I don't agree with critics this film is bad, which is not. I have always loved this movie, I even saw the VHS tape in 2003 on a sale sadly I didn't bought it, but I have now whole collection on Blu-ray disc. Patricia Clarkson was in my opinion much better than the actress Sondra Locke. I love the theme music in the opening scene and I love this action flick. This is the first time I see Jim Carrey in this flick as Johnny Squares who gets murdered in his trailer which the killer fills him with drugs. Liam Neeson is also in here as Peter Swan the movie director who becomes the murder suspect in this flick on a dead pool list of people who also Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) becomes the target as him self in it. This movie was directed by Buddy Van Horn who directed previously Any Which Way You Can (1980) the sequel to Every Which Way but Loose (1978) Clint Eastwood films and Pink Cadillac (1989). The Dead Pool is the fifth and final installment in the Dirty Harry film franchise. The 1988 sequel finds Inspector Callahan (Clint Eastwood) trying to solve a series of murders that appears to be linked to a list of celebrities that were deemed likely to be dead in the near future. The film's cast included Liam Neeson, Evan Kim as well as the feature film debut of Jim Carrey. I think this movie is close to The Rookie (1990) another Clint Eastwood flick that Clint directed it him self and I love it. Because Michael Goodwin who plays the character Lt. Ackerman, the last name Ackerman was later used in Charlie Sheen's character The Rookie (1990). Both of the movies are each other like and they are both good. Just in The Rookie Clint plays different character than Harry Callahan. The basic plot about, this film, is more about a psychopath killer who stalks Hollywood stars including the director and making his own movies. The film does have a plot wholes, like the killer was revealed by the end of the movie and his motives. Just trough whole movie the actor David Hunt is shown by the end of the movie. This great last chapter in the career of Inspector Harry Callahan can not be missed! You have got to check out the remote controlled car chase...reminiscent of that great Sunday drive scene in "BULLITT", with Steve McQueen! Look for the great Jim Carrey acts to GUNS N' ROSES' Welcome To The Jungle, as a junkie rock star...side splitting stuff!! Eastwood delivers the goods in his last appearance as the San Francisco cop who took care of the bad guys...HIS WAY!! BANG...with that .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson hand-cannon!! Be sure to add this movie to your collection. I got the DIRTY HARRY 5 film collection on Blu-ray !! I recommend this movie as well as the others!!The Dead Pool is a 1988 American action film directed by Buddy Van Horn, written by Steve Sharon, and starring Clint Eastwood as Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan. It is the fifth and final film in the Dirty Harry film series, set in San Francisco, California.Back in the day, Roger Ebert called this final Dirty Harry film the best since the original. I'll take it a step further: I think it's the greatest Harry film of all. And he even gets the girl at the end! An awesome end to one of the greatest film series in history...Please just don't let them start remaking these films! I'll have to smother myself! Anyway this movie is great and none, I repeat NONE of the Dirty Harry movies are bad, they are all great and I love them all. This movie deserves 9 from me. This is my fourth favorite film in the series, the last one will be The Enforcer.
