Vigilante Movies

‘Dirty Harry’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

“Dirty Harry” is a film I’ve heard a lot about during my almost forty years on this planet, especially when I started to watch movies regularly in my youth. It’s long been a part of American pop culture, and it’s hard for me to believe this was my first time watching it.  I’m familiar with the “Do you feel lucky, punk?” speech that has been repeated by numerous cinephiles over the past fifty years.  “Dirty Harry” was released in 1971. The 70’s are my favorite decade of American cinema, as the films back then were raw, dirty, and unapologetically in-your-face.

Our antagonist in this film goes by the name of Scorpio (Andrew Robinson), and when he’s first introduced on screen, he’s seen killing a woman in a San Francisco pool from a rooftop. Scorpio a vicious sniper who plans on killing more innocent people unless his demands are met.  He’s looking to get $100,000, and if he doesn’t, he will kill one person a day, starting with either a Catholic priest or an African American.  Police Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) found his ransom letter and wants to take matters into his own hands much to the dismay of the San Francisco Police Department. He’s called Dirty Harry because he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty and do whatever is necessary to find his man. He also appears to hate everyone equally, regardless of their race.

Harry is none too pleased when he’s assigned a rookie partner named Chico Gonzalez, played by Reni Santoni. Harry’s previous two partners ended up injured or dead. Before long, Scorpio decides he wants to raise the stakes–he wants $200,000 or he will kill a teenager named Ann Mary Deacon.  It’s up to Harry and Chico to put a stop to this before it gets even worse for the entire city of San Francisco. The biggest problems in Harry’s life come from his own police department, as they want him to play by the rules and follow police protocol.  Harry Callahan knows he’s dealing with a lunatic here, and you can’t reason with someone who is evil, maniacal, and cold-blooded.

My biggest issue with “Dirty Harry” is the fact the film presents an antagonist and a protagonist who are written in a bland and one-note fashion. Eastwood is known for his understated and minimalist approach to acting, and most of the time, it works. In “Dirty Harry,” for me, I wanted to learn more about what makes him tick and what his backstory is.  I didn’t need everything to be explained to me in granular detail, but we know very little about him.  The mystery of Harry Callahan doesn’t work in this film because I found myself detached from the character.  Scorpio is just an over-the-top villain. What is anyone’s motivation here?

“Dirty Harry” is a film which is all about the chase.  It’s all about Harry chasing Scorpio, and it’s interesting to a degree, but it doesn’t hold up for the duration of the film.  I understand the film is making a statement about police violence and what needs to be done in order to achieve a peaceful environment for everyone involved. Do the police need to resort to a more aggressive style of police protocol? Are they letting criminals get away with too much? Do the police need to bend the rules a little bit if it allows everyone to feel safe?  I understand what the film was trying to say, and I don’t need everything to be spelled out for me perfectly, but this is a film that felt flat and uninteresting to me. I needed a little more meat on the bone here.  It’s OK to have a simple story, but you need characters with a little more depth to them than simply good guy versus bad guy.

Overall, I liked the beginning and the end of the film, but the film completely lost me in the middle when it was the back-and-forth chase between Scorpio and Harry Callahan. There is little to no dialogue going on in these scenes, and I respected the style that was on display from director Don Siegel, but I needed something else to grab me to keep my attention. “Dirty Harry” is a Hollywood classic, and I understand many filmgoers hold it in very high regard.  I was anticipating having a strong reaction to it. When it was over, I thought to myself, “That’s it?”

* * out of * * * *

4K Info: “Dirty Harry” is released on a single-disc 4K from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment in either a slipcover version or a collector’s edition steelbook. There is also a digital copy of the film included in the set.  The film has a running time of 102 minutes and is rated R.

4K Video Info: The 4K HDR transfer here is striking and vibrant while maintaining a grimy and old-school look to it in the process. When the film is taking place during the day, the colors really pop and shine on screen. When it takes place at night, the deep blacks are on full display.

4K Audio Info: The Dolby Atmos track is sharp and solid throughout the film. It’s powerful without being overbearing. Subtitles are included in English, Spanish, and French.

Special Features:

Commentary by Richard Schickel

Generations and Dirty Harry – NEW

Lensing Justice: The Cinematography of Dirty Harry – NEW

American Masters Career Retrospective: Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows

Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso

Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Fighting for Justice

Interview Gallery

Dirty Harry’s Way

Dirty Harry: The Original

Should You Buy It?

If you love “Dirty Harry” and it’s one of your favorite films, you’ll be over the moon about this 4K release, which includes over four hours of special features. They really made sure they went above and beyond for this 4K release, and I imagine a lot of people have been waiting a long time for this.  Visually, it’s a stunning release that is sure to satisfy physical media lovers out there. The Dolby Atmos track stands out on this as well. For people who haven’t seen the film before, like myself, I don’t know how well it will hold up with a modern audience or a first-time viewer. It didn’t connect with me, and I was disappointed by the majority of it. It was a film I respected, but I didn’t connect with it the way I have other Clint Eastwood films I’ve been watching lately. If you haven’t seen it before, you might want to watch it before you blind buy it.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.

‘The Equalizer 3’ – The Best of the Trilogy

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The first two “Equalizer” movies directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington were effective action flicks, but much of what happened in them did not stay in my brain for very long. The most I can remember is that Denzel played Robert McCall who, when he starts the timer on his digital watch, is gifted at leaving his opponents in a world of immense pain in about five seconds’ time. And then there are others who he leaves in a world of searing pain before killing them off in a rather gruesome fashion. Other than that, few things from those films stayed with me after I watched them. They were good and did their job, but like your average fast-food meal, it only leaves so much of an aftertaste.

The same, however, cannot be said about “The Equalizer 3” as it features a storyline and action scenes which will not leave my mind for a very long time. Whereas its predecessors followed similar plotlines, this one goes in a different direction as Robert McCall wonders how he can live on after all the bloody and brutal acts he has unleashed upon others. But while he looks to have found peace, we know that peace will eventually be shattered.

This sequel starts off with an immediate bang as a drug lord drives up to his beautiful home, the kind which the average working-class individual can only dream of affording. Upon his arrival, he discovers many dead bodies littered around and inside his home, including one henchman with a hatchet buried deep in his face. For a moment, I thought “The Equalizer 3” was about to introduce us to Robert’s latest chief antagonist, but instead we find Robert has killed all these men, and we first see him sitting in a chair, held at gunpoint by the drug lord’s henchmen and looking to be on the verge of breathing his very last breath. But, of course, this is the only the movie’s beginning, and once Robert tells this nameless drug baron he has nine seconds to decide his fate, you know he is going to walk out of there and no one else will.

“The Equalizer 3” is rated R for “strong bloody violence.” Please take this rating seriously. The opening sequence alone hangs over this sequel as McCall ends up laying waste to those in his ways in an infinitely brutal fashion. He even shoots his nemesis in a very painful area before ending him ever so coldly, before rendering them dead or, as Chevy Chase described it in “Fletch,” extremely sleepy. Right from the start, this is Fuqua’s and Washington’s way of saying, “Hey, this is make believe, but all the same we ain’t playing around!”

From there, the action moves to the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy where McCall goes to recover from life-threatening injuries, and it is there he finds a level of peace his violent past has never allowed him to have. Eventually, he is made to feel like one of the people there after he finally gets that cup of tea he ordered at the local café. Cinematographer Robert Richardson lights this town beautifully and adds to allure of it being a desirable tourist destination I would love to visit someday. Even one of my critic friends told me, after watching this movie, how she would just love to retire there. Who wouldn’t?

Nevertheless, we know this peace will eventually be shattered, and it is shattered by members of the Sicilian Mafia who are determined to turn this beautiful town into a major tourist destination with hotels and restaurants. Essentially, they are real estate investors of the most violent kind as they show no hesitation in throwing an old man out the window or beating up a local chef in order to make their presence known and never forgotten. It’s just like what John Doe said in “Seven:”

“Wanting people to listen, you can’t just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you’ll notice you’ve got their strict attention.”

Fuqua and Washington love playing with our emotions and the situations presented to us. We know McCall is going to leave these heavily tattooed thugs in a world of pain before certain death, but we still get to have a lot of twisted fun here as these thugs try to intimidate McCall, and we revel in the fact that they have no idea what they are in for or who they are dealing with. They may delight in intimidating others, but we know they are on the verge of experiencing a level of pain which could literally make them shit their pants. There is even a certain scene in a restaurant in which McCall shows how much he knows about the human anatomy, he presents this in a painfully unforgettable way.

I have long become convinced that Denzel can do absolutely no wrong as an actor. Not once have I failed to see him give the best performance possible in any motion picture he stars in, and “The Equalizer 3” is no exception. It could have been a role where he simply could have stared his foes down, but he makes every single movement of his body, every look with his eyes and every word of dialogue he utters count for so much. He is not about to render Robert McCall into some mere one-dimensional action hero like the ones many of us grew up with in the 1980’s. Just as Matt Damon did as Jason Bourne, Keanu Reeves did with John Wick and even Tom Cruise does with Ethan Hunt, Denzel imbues McCall with a deeply wounded humanity which rings true throughout. This is one of many characters with a violent past they are hoping to make peace with, but we all know they will eventually return to the thing they do best. This is what makes them so fascinating and enthralling to watch.

The other big delight of “The Equalizer 3” is the appearance of Dakota Fanning, reuniting with Denzel for the first time in almost 20 years after “Man on Fire.” It is fascinating to watch Dakota then when she was a young girl and then watching her now as a woman, and it is great fun to see her hold her own opposite Denzel as CIA officer Emma Collins. She is a terrific presence as she carefully tries to pierce away at McCall’s hardened exterior to find out what lies underneath. My only disappointment is seeing her sidelined before the film’s third act as I would have loved to see these two team up to together to take on the mafia, but I guess her character was written to serve a different purpose.

And while the screenplay by Richard Wenk may come across as your routine and formulaic vigilante action flick, Fuqua and company end up pulling the rug right out from under us before we can even get a glimpse of what could possibly be coming our way. You know how it goes; the bad guys get hurt and embarrassed really bad, and they vow a revenge which we know will hurt even worse than what came before. But when it comes to our man McCall, he is already several steps ahead of them. So, when the pain comes, it comes fast and brutal, and you pity those who have no idea what kind of fate they are in store for.

Of all the movies in “The Equalizer” trilogy, “The Equalizer 3” is my pick for the best of the bunch. It is the most memorable, features action set pieces which must had director Mel Gibson going, “Hey, I could have done that,” and it proves to be a strong conclusion to a well-made trilogy. Again, take the R rating this movie has very seriously. If you do not like seeing someone stick a gun in an eye socket they have already shot through in order to take out another henchman with several bullets, this may not be your cup of tea. Whereas John Wick takes out his enemies before they even know what had hit them, Robert McCall wants you to first know who it was who had beaten you.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

Underseen Movie: Harry Brown in Which Michael Caine Gets His Own Version of Death Wish

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Back in 2010, I was trying to remember the last time I saw Sir Michael Caine play the lead in a motion picture. Looking back, I think it was “The Quiet American” in which he gave what he thought, and I agree with him, was one of his very best performances ever. Since then, he has been the supporting actor of choice in movies like “The Dark Knight” and “Inception.” The big joke around Hollywood was if you can’t get Morgan Freeman for your movie, get Caine. Those two guys are in just about every other movie being made. Still, we need a reminder every so often of how truly great an actor Caine is. There are a number of good reasons why his career has lasted several decades after having survived critical disasters like “Jaws: The Revenge.”

But in 2009, Caine did get indeed get the lead in a movie many still have not seen, “Harry Brown.” I saw it as a double feature at the New Beverly Cinema along with a classic movie Caine starred in called “Get Carter.” Both these films have him playing characters where violence plays or has played a big part in their lives. With “Get Carter,” he played a professional killer who was almost completely amoral, and yet you couldn’t help but like him. It’s almost tempting to look at “Harry Brown” as kind of a sequel to “Get Carter” as it makes you wonder what Jack Carter would have been like had he grown up long enough to become a senior citizen. Even if he managed to put his past behind him, it is always bound to catch up with him as only so many bad deeds go unpunished.

From its trailer, “Harry Brown” certainly does look like the British version of “Death Wish,” one of the most unforgettable movies about vigilante justice. But you could also look at it as being to Caine what “Gran Torino” was to Clint Eastwood. Each movie involves a character so uncomfortable with the changes going on around them, and they are resistant, as is everyone, to any kind of change. There’s even a good dose of Eastwood’s “Unforgiven” thrown in for good measure as you wonder how deeply Harry was shaped by his experiences as a military officer.

Either way you look at it, “Harry Brown” takes the overused concept of a regular person who loses someone close to them, forcing them to take matters into their own hands when the police fail to help, and turns it into a very effective thriller which is truly unrelenting in the intensity it generates. Seriously, this is a very bleak movie which puts you into the main character’s mindset and never lets you go. It also takes place in a an environment which is all too real to those who live in it, and the consequences hit you like a swift kick to the gut. You may look at Brown’s surroundings and say to yourself no one could pay me enough to live in this environment, but we are stuck there for 103 minutes, and there’s no easy way out.

Caine plays the title character, a widowed North Ireland military veteran who finds his training coming back to him as he comes to confront those who murdered his best friend, Leonard (David Bradley) in such a cold and callous way. Following this, it becomes clear to Harry his days of being indifferent to the horrible goings on now are at an end, and he threatens to become even more lethal than those gang members he stealthily pursues. In the process, his training as a soldier is reawakened, and he uses it to his advantage. The way Harry sees it, he and his men fought for something important, but these kids today are instead fighting for their own depressing amusement.

Caine continues to make screen acting look effortless for him, and even the moments where he doesn’t speak a single word speaks volumes of what is going through his mind. We feel Harry’s pain over becoming so lonely without a soul to rely on, and we experience his state of mind completely thanks to Caine’s incredible performance. We have seen this kind of character a lot in movies, but Caine imbues Harry with a wounded humanity which keeps him for becoming completely cold blooded. Even as he descends into violent acts of raw vengeance, we can’t help but sympathize with Harry as we come to wonder what we would do if we unlucky enough to be in this situation. We never catch Caine playing on the clichés other actors would likely fall into, and it makes you wonder if there is another actor who could have played this role as well as him.

“Harry Brown” marks the feature length directorial debut of Daniel Barber whose only other project was the Oscar nominated short film “The Tonto Woman.” Filming at a council estate in South London, he creates an unrelentingly bleak atmosphere which feels even darker than anything David Fincher came up with in “Alien 3” or “Seven.” Just taking in the atmosphere which surrounds Harry and his fellow neighbors drains the soul pretty quick. Instead of prettying anything up, Barber captures the hopelessness of a people stuck in a crime ridden area so far out of their control, and of the frustration which drives the main character into action.

It is clear from the start that this will not be your average Hollywood vigilante flick, and the violence featured here is very brutal. The movie’s opening sequence features a very realistically staged gang initiation sequence where a new recruit is made to do drugs and then gets beaten up to within an inch of his life. This is later followed up by a highly unnerving scene where two gang members are riding along on a motorbike while filming their escapades, and one of them ends up shooting a young mother while she is pushing her baby in a stroller. From that point on, you never feel safe while watching this movie. You feel the gunshots when they go off here, and it all becomes a race to see how much longer Harry can stay alive.

Barber also proves to be masterful in setting up highly suspenseful scenes which are brimming over with excruciating tension. The best example of this comes when Harry meets with two young men to buy a gun, and both are clearly high on their own supply to where they are hopelessly paranoid. You feel like things could explode at any second, and I have to give a lot of credit to the two actors, Sean Harris and Joseph Gilgun, here as they make their drugged-up characters all the more frightening than they already were in the screenplay. Seriously, the scene between them and Caine is one of the most unnerving I have seen in a long time, and I will never be able to shake it.

There is also a very nice supporting performance here from the lovely Emily Mortimer who previously stole my heart in “Lars and the Real Girl” opposite Ryan Gosling. She plays Detective Inspector Alice Frampton who is at times empathetic to the suffering around her, and at other times very serious about the work she does. It’s not your typical tough as nails cop on display here, and I found this to be quite interesting. Frampton almost looks out of her league, but she quickly shows us how she keeps an open mind and considers every possibility without singling out anything based on preconceptions or stereotypes. Of course, being the smartest cop in the movie, no one listens to or takes her seriously enough. Then again, if they had, the running length of this film would be equivalent to that of “The Tonto Woman.”

“Harry Brown” is truly one of the bleakest movies I have ever seen, and while the trailers make you think we are traveling into familiar “Death Wish” territory, this is not the case in the slightest. All these years later, I still can’t get it out of my head as it affected me more than I anticipated. I was expecting a solid B-movie at most, but there was much more to the story than what I saw at first glance. It marks a very impressive debut for Barber, and it allows Caine to give us yet another great character and unforgettable performance to a resume which is overflowing with them.

* * * ½ out of * * * *