Sudden Impact (1983) from Tuna

Sudden Impact (1983) is the fourth in the Dirty Harry franchise, and was directed by Clint Eastwood who also reprised his famous role as Harry Callahan, the tough cop from San Francisco. This is my least favorite of the Dirty Harry series because it has no suspense at all. We learn the identity of the killer in the opening scene. It's a woman in San Paulo who is taking revenge for the rape of her sister and herself by shooting the perpetrators, first in the testicles, and then in the forehead.

Callahan's bosses want him out of the way for a while because his heavy-handed police tactics were embarrassing them, so he is sent to San Paulo to investigate the background of the first victim, who was killed in San Francisco. She kills all the evildoers, Harry solves the case, and there is lots of shooting and fighting along the way. Much of the film is very dark, making it difficult to watch, and even the surprise ending was predictable.

Here is how the Dirty Harry films stack up in Eastwood's career, as per IMDb:
 

  1. (8.69) - Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
  2. (8.00) - Unforgiven (1992)
  3. (7.78) - Per qualche dollaro in piů (1965)
  4. (7.69) - Per un pugno di dollari (1964)
  5. (7.59) - Dirty Harry (1971)
  6. (7.59) - Outlaw Josey Wales, The (1976)
  7. (7.48) - Where Eagles Dare (1968)
  8. (7.30) - In the Line of Fire (1993)
  9. (7.28) - High Plains Drifter (1972)
  10. (7.27) - Kurosawa (2001)
  11. (7.19) - Kelly's Heroes (1970)
  12. (7.19) - Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
  13. (6.98) - Play Misty for Me (1971)
  14. (6.90) - Perfect World, A (1993)
  15. (6.88) - Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)
  16. (6.87) - Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, A (1998)
  17. (6.87) - Beguiled, The (1971)
  18. (6.80) - Bridges of Madison County, The (1995)
  19. (6.79) - Pale Rider (1985)
  20. (6.69) - Hang 'em High (1968)
  21. (6.69) - Two Mules for Sister Sara (1969)
  22. (6.60) - Magnum Force (1973)
  23. (6.59) - Coogan's Bluff (1968)
  24. (6.59) - Who Is Alan Smithee? (2002) (TV)
  25. (6.50) - Space Cowboys (2000)
  26. (6.50) - White Hunter, Black Heart (1990)
  27. (6.42) - Cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma, Les (1995)
  28. (6.41) - America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001) (TV)
  29. (6.40) - Enforcer, The (1976)
  30. (6.40) - Paint Your Wagon (1969)
  31. (6.40) - Absolute Power (1997)
  32. (6.32) - Tarantula (1955)
  33. (6.31) - Century of Cinema, A (1994)
  34. (6.30) - Blood Work (2002)
  35. (6.21) - Eiger Sanction, The (1975)
  36. (6.20) - True Crime (1999)
  37. (6.12) - Tightrope (1984)
  38. (6.11) - Sudden Impact (1983)
  39. (6.11) - Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
  40. (6.10) - Away All Boats (1956)
  41. (6.04) - Honkytonk Man (1982)
  42. (6.02) - Gauntlet, The (1977)
  43. (5.94) - Forever Hollywood (1999)
  44. (5.93) - Streghe, Le (1966)
  45. (5.87) - Joe Kidd (1972)
  46. (5.84) - Bronco Billy (1980)
  47. (5.74) - Francis in the Navy (1955)
  48. (5.72) - Dead Pool, The (1988)
  49. (5.61) - Casper (1995)
  50. (5.52) - Firefox (1982)
  51. (5.43) - Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
  52. (5.42) - Terror in the Aisles (1984)
  53. (5.20) - Revenge of the Creature (1955)
  54. (5.15) - Any Which Way You Can (1980)
  55. (5.14) - Rookie, The (1990)
  56. (5.01) - City Heat (1984)
  57. (4.89) - Pink Cadillac (1989)

DVD info from Amazon

  • Widescreen anamorphic 1.85:1

  • No meaningful features

NUDITY REPORT

The exposure was from Lisa London (H.O.T.S, Dragnet, Private Resort), who shows breasts as a hooker.

The Critics Vote

The People Vote ...

  • It grossed $68 million
The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. (C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by genre fans, while C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie although genre addicts find it watchable). D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-.

Based on this description, this film barely make sit as an actioner, and so C-.

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