The Enforcer

The third entry in the Dirty Harry series, The Enforcer (1976), is an entertaining mixed bag. Not as well-crafted as its predecessors, it remains on an even keel through solid action scenes and a strong performance by Tyne Daly.

San Francisco is terrorized by a gang of "revolutionaries" called the People's Revolutionary Strike Force, a Symbionese Liberation Army clone whose real motive is to get rich quick. Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is on and off the case, but his PR-conscious superiors team him with shavetail cop Kate Moore (Tyne Daly). Harry initially dislikes Kate, but ultimately finds her a skilled and resourceful officer. The stakes are raised considerably when the Mayor (John Crawford) is kidnaped by the PRSF, and Harry and Kate track them down to Alcatraz Island for an explosive tete-a-tete.

The Dirty Harry films were fairly schematic, and the more the trick was repeated the less interesting it got. The Enforcer lacks a strong plot and interesting villains, but it makes up for it with solid action scenes. Director James Fargo provides a number of great set-pieces, including an excellent foot chase and an epic shootout on Alcatraz Island. The movie also helps by focusing on the Harry-Kate relationship, showing that Harry's initial resentment of Kate isn't for her gender so much as her inexperience. Their relationship generates some good gags (especially the bazooka test-firing sequence) and genuine, not-quite-romantic chemistry.

Clint Eastwood is dependably disgruntled, dispensing black humor, quips and .44 bullets with his usual aplomb. Tyne Daly is exceptional; some early scenes play her dilemma for laughs, but she's tough, resourceful, feminine and every bit Harry's equal. Series regulars John Mitchum, Bradford Dillman and Albert Popwell acquit themselves well, but the bad guys are lame and forgettable punks.

The Enforcer isn't as good as the first two Dirty Harry flicks, but it's still pretty solid shoot-'em-up entertainment. It's certainly miles better than the last two entries in the series.