The final Dirty Harry movie The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool was on a bad note to end the iconic series – but Sin City technically provided a better finale for the character. The Dirty Harry movies firmly cemented Clint Eastwood as an A-lister, with the star occasionally picking up Harry’s .44 Magnum for sequels throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The only Clint Eastwood-directed outing was 1983’s Sudden Impact, the fourth (and darkest) of the saga. The star retired the character following 1988’s The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool, and the series has been dormant ever since.
It’s likely to remain that way since it’s almost impossible to imagine anyone but Clint in that role. While none of the follow-ups measured up to Don Siegel’s original, The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool was the most disappointing of all. The fifth entry was a murder mystery about a serial killer picking victims off the тιтular list, but outside a creative chase involving a toy car, it was a weak sauce sequel. It looks and feels like a TV movie, Eastwood appears checked out, and it’s a long way from where the franchise began.
Sin City’s “That Yellow Bastard” Is A Better Dirty Harry Finale Than The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool
Bruce Willis’ Hartigan picked up Dirty Harry’s .44
While he might not be called Dirty Harry, Sin City’s Hartigan (Bruce Willis) from “That Yellow Bastard” is very much in the same mould. The character is introduced rescuing a young girl named Nancy from a predatory serial killer – only to be framed and sent to prison for the latter’s crimes. “That Yellow Bastard” revels in its pulp detective fiction and film noir influences, but Willis’ Hartigan is clearly a riff on Eastwood’s Dirty Harry too.
The structure of the story has many similarities to the original Dirty Harry. Both involve a renegade cop chasing a depraved killer and the opening sequence of “That Yellow Bastard” feels like it recreates the finale of Dirty Harry where Hartigan confronts a wounded Junior (Nick Stahl) on a dock. The two detectives share an unwavering commitment to doing the right thing too and don’t mind breaking rules to see that done.
Jessica Alba’s Nancy Callahan is another Frank Miller tip of the hat to Dirty Harry, as the тιтle detective’s full name is Harry Callahan.
It wouldn’t be hard to see “That Yellow Bastard” functioning as a closing chapter for Eastwood’s Harry. There could only be so many times Harry ignored the law to dispense his version of justice before it caught up to him, or he crossed the wrong people. Sadly, The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool explored none of that and instead slotted Eastwood’s detective into a limp procedural. “That Yellow Bastard” understands Harry’s ending wouldn’t be a happy one, but at least he would choose to do things on his terms.
“That Yellow Bastard” Was Written As A Response To The Final Dirty Harry
Something good came out of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool after all
Frank Miller is a fan of Dirty Harry and was motivated by his disappointment with The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool to write his own finale. Hartigan actually seems like a happier character than Harry when introduced in Sin City; he’s happily married and only a day away from retirement. Despite knowing that rescuing Nancy in the opening scene will likely ruin his life, he’s not going to let a child die. The Dirty Harry films never played with their formula in any meaningful way, with Harry remaining in the force despite breaking the rules on countless occasions.
|
Every Dirty Harry Movie |
Release Year |
Director |
Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dirty Harry |
1971 |
Don Siegel |
$36 million |
|
Magnum Force |
1973 |
Ted Post |
$44.6 million |
|
The Enforcer |
1976 |
James Fargo |
$46.2 million |
|
Sudden Impact |
1983 |
Clint Eastwood |
$67.6 million |
|
The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool |
1988 |
Buddy Van Horn |
$37.9 million |
Having Harry framed and sent to prison would have been a perfect final chapter for the character, where he was fully abandoned by the force and became a total vigilante. “That Yellow Bastard” understands Harry as a character better than The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool ever does, and that he wouldn’t necessarily go peacefully into the night.
Why The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool Was Such A Tepid Ending For Dirty Harry
The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool took the “Dirty” out of Harry
Eastwood managed to get numerous pet projects made during his time with Warner Bros by peppering his filmography with very commercial projects. More personal outings like Clint’s favorite Western of his own Bronco Billy or Bird would be bankrolled by action or thriller fare like Firefox or The Rookie. When it came to getting Bird produced, Eastwood agreed to make Dirty Harry and that’s how The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool came together. Again, the sequel has a creative sequence where Harry and his partner are chased by an explosive toy car, but that’s the only scene that stands out.
Sin City’s “That Yellow Bastard” isn’t without its own faults but it’s so much more satisfying as a final tale for “Dirty” Harry Callahan
The bulk of the story is a limp remake of the original, where Callahan chases a killer targeting celebrities who are part of a list – Harry included. There’s also a romantic subplot where Harry romances a reporter played by Patricia Clarkson, but while Eastwood and Clarkson have decent chemistry, The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool is too lightweight to feel like a true Dirty Harry sequel. It takes swipes at the media and the film business, but lacks most of the grime or food for thought previous entries offered.
Clint himself is visibly disengaged and the finale is too darn silly. It’s not like the series was ever conceived to tell a complete arc for the character, but if Eastwood knew The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Pool would be the end, it’s a shame he couldn’t have picked a tougher, darker story. Sin City’s “That Yellow Bastard” isn’t without its own faults – especially the icky romance between Hartigan and the older Nancy – but it’s so much more satisfying as a final tale for “Dirty” Harry Callahan.
Source: Box Office Mojo
