THE DEAD POOL

In this film, Dirty Harry doesn't have any witty comebacks, no iconic prose, or even a squint in his eye that makes him look as menacing as he is. NOT! So go ahead, make your day, and watch the following 92-minute film released in 1988. It was directed by Buddy Van Horn and stars Clint Eastwood, Liam Neeson, Jim Carrey, and Patricia Clarkson.

The Dead Pool


THE STORY:
I am afraid to say that Police Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) has a lot on his plate at the moment.

For a start, he's thrust into the media spotlight due to his recent capture and testimony against the crime kingpin, Lou Janero, which causes him a lot of personal problems in the process. Then, he is forced to get a new partner for his own safety, Al Quan, which he's not too happy about. Plus, on top of that, he is currently investigating the death of the rock star, Johnny Squares (Jim Carrey), who snuffed it after making a music video.

Granted, at first glance, whilst examining Johnny's sprawled out body in his trailer, it does appear to Harry that he died of a heroin overdose. However, sometime later, when the producer of Johnny’s music video is killed in downtown Chinatown, Harry discovers that the producer and Johnny are both a part of a ‘dead pool’ game, in which participants try to predict celebrity deaths in prose.

And do you know what is even more troubling about all of this? The director of Johnny’s film, Peter Swan (Liam Neeson), has both Johnny's and the producers' names on his 'death list'. Worst still, so is Harry's name, too.

So, what do you think Harry does next, huh? Confront Swan? Yes, he does that. Not that it does him any good. He also confronts the female reporter who fancies the pants off him? Samantha Walker (Patricia Clarkson)? Well, maybe she can help him investigate the media side of this 'Dead Pool' game? Or aid Harry with his problems with Lou Janero!

Then again, that's probably why what next transpires is a right 'make my day' moment. As partners avoid bangs - reporters hear clangs - criminals duck gangs - and Harry ends this adventure with one major twang.

THE REVIEW:
Before I give you my 411 on 'The Dead Pool', please allow me to splurge some film facts first: (1) The Guns N' Roses song featured in this film, 'Welcome to the Jungle', was used as a non-original score. (2) The remote-controlled car used in the infamous 'chase scenes' was a modified miniature 1963 Chevrolet Corvette. (3) This film was made, despite protests from certain factions of San Francisco who did not want Dirty Harry representing their city. (5) At Clint's request, the 'body count' in this film was a lot less than the other Dirty Harry films... 14. (6) This was the only Dirty Harry film not to have Albert Popwell in it - the 'make my day' bad-guy. (7) The set of the Molly Fisher murder was the same one Clint used in his directorial debut, 'Play Misty For Me'. (8) The dead film critic, Molly Fisher, was based on the film critic who criticized the first Dirty Harry movie, Pauline Kael. (9) Quite a few members of the rock band, Guns N' Roses, made cameos in this film - Slash was the person who shot the harpoon gun through the window. And (10) This was the shortest of the Dirty Harry films.

OK, so now that my brain is slightly less loose - 'The Dead Pool' - what can I say about this film? Err... I suppose I can start off by saying that it was the last of the Dirty Harry film series, and in some way, an odd note to end it on.

Well, personally speaking, I found there was no grand finale, no major revelation,  and no climax that would end all climaxes. Instead, what was presented was a simple eighties story of fame and the trappings of fame, along with a franchise that ended with a ‘thwang’ instead of a ‘BOOOM!’.

However, maybe my stance on this matter is something to do with what Clint said some time after this film was made, saying that he made a couple of Dirty Harry films too many. On second thoughts, maybe it’s to do with expectations! Well, come on, let’s face it, when we know that a franchise is coming to an end, we always expect the ending to be something of gargantuan proportions that would exceed what has come before it!

Heck, ‘The Dead Pool’ was most probably Clint’s idea of defying audience expectations by just presenting a good, solid story with no fanfare or defining closure! That is Clint’s style, right? Understated, just like the man with no name

Overall, this film isn't that bad a film. Not brilliant... just not bad, and well worth the watch just to see Clint with a harpoon gun, TWANG! Here, check out this homage to 'The Dead Pool' and wait for the fanfare, ha!

Now that is what I would call an odd note, right?

THE RATING: B-