Post by Erik Rupp on Jul 4, 2010 11:18:32 GMT -5
While The Dead Pool often gets a bad rap, it isn't a bad film at all.
Oh, it may not be the best Dirty Harry movie, or even the second best, but it is a good movie and a solid entry in the series.
The story is actually fairly interesting - a somewhat well known horror movie director is discovered to be part of a, "Dead Pool," when a well known rock star dies in his trailer while working on the director's latest movie. That rock star (Johnny Squares) just happens to be on the director's dead pool list, raising suspicions in the police department. Heading up the investigation is one Inspector Harry Callahan.
Making matters more interesting is the fact that a few other people on his list are showing up dead, making that director (Peter Swan) a prime suspect.
The director is played by Liam Neeson, and the rock star is played (briefly) by another then up and coming actor - Jim Carrey. Neither of them gives one of their better performances, but both are more than adequate, and it is certainly interesting to see them you early in their respective careers.
Eastwood gives his usual Dirty Harry performance here, and while the movie is missing a trademark catch phrase, there is some good dialogue to be heard in the movie. The action scenes are good, and the movie looks slicker than any of the previous Dirty Harry films looked. Whether or not that's a good thing I'm not so sure. It certainly makes the film look newer at the very least.
The suspense in the movie is fairly well built up, and the resolution is unique, to say the least. The resolution - the final action sequence - is, however, a minor letdown. It's not as exciting and there isn't as much going on as in previous Dirty Harry movies (the tension just isn't quite up to the level expected). This may be part of the reason that the movie gets a bad rap. The ending isn't bad at all, just not as good as some of the final sequences of the previous Harry Callahan movies.
Taken on it's own The Dead Pool is a good crime action/thriller.
The original DVD (part of the Clint Eastwood Collection) was extremely good when it comes to audio/video quality.
Surprisingly good. After watching the first four Dirty Harry movies on Blu Ray I watched the original DVD and was really surprised at how good the picture looked, and how full and clear the audio was. Warner Brothers did a phenomenal job with this DVD, and they deserve credit for that. No, it's not Blu Ray quality (no DVD can be), but it looks as good as a movie of that age can possibly look. The picture is crisp, clear, sharp - and clean. It looks like a movie shot in 1998, not 1988 (not that there's a big difference, but the print used for The Dead Pool looks like it's brand new).
In the end, The Dead Pool (both the movie and the DVD transfer) was surprisingly good. The movie may not be great, but it is good.
It's just a shame that there isn't a catchphrase that I could have used to wrap this up...
Movie - 3.75/5
DVD A/V Quality - 4.5/5