With a screenplay by John Milius and Michael Cimino, "Magnum Force" really out to be better than it is but then you realise the director is Ted Post so maybe we should be thankful it's as good as it is. Post was a jobbing director of limited talent so you might say he was really only as good as his material. "Magnum Force" was the second, in what turned out to be, the 'Dirty Harry' franchise and as follow-ups, (as opposed to sequels), go this is an enjoyably crude yarn.
This time round a group of rogue cops, (David Soul, Tim Matheson, Kip Niven and Robert Urich), are dispensing their own brand of justice, killing bad guys, (and anyone else who gets in their way), and it's up to Harry to stop them. Are you in any doubt that he would? It's a good plot and, to be fair, Post handles the action sequences with considerable aplomb. Unfortunately Clint walks through it as if on autopilot but then, as actor, he too was really just as good as his material.
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