Come Back, 'Dirty Harry!'
Clint Eastwood is 93 but shows little interest in retiring.
He was in the middle of shooting his latest film, “Juror No. 2,” when the Hollywood strikes shut down production.
The legend is still too old to revisit his iconic “Dirty” Harry Callahan antihero. The character sprang to life in the early 1970s, a time when crime spikes left many paralyzed by fear. His take-no-prisoners cop felt like a balm for a battered nation’s soul.
We sure could use Dirty Harry today.
Crime is spiraling out of control in many major cities. Defund the Police measures stripped urban centers of critical resources. Soft-on-crime district attorneys are sending crooks back on the street to do even more damage.
The George Floyd protests demoralized clean cops across the nation. Many chose to retire rather than be spat upon for risking their lives on a daily basis.
It’s the perfect time to bring a “Dirty Harry”-style film back to theaters. If only it were that simple.
A poster for Don Siegel's 1971 crime film 'Dirty Harry' starring Clint Eastwood. (Photo by Movie Poster Image Art/Getty Images)
Film critics raged against “Dirty Harry” in the 1970s, with famed reviewers Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael playing the “fascist” card decades before it applied to every third conservative politicians (in the eyes of the far Left).
The 2018 revival of “Death Wish,” starring Bruce Willis in the classic Charles Bronson role, similarly got pummeled by the elites.
“Terribly timed ‘Death Wish’ and Bruce Willis do their best shooting for the NRA,” cried USA Today. GQ magazine dubbed it "the most tone-deaf film of the year."
Just imagine what a new movie in the “Death Wish”/”Dirty Harry” mold would trigger in today’s elites. The cries for censorship would be deafening.
The studio in question could lessen the inevitable backlash by making the hero a woman or person of color. The 2018 film “Peppermint,” featuring Jennifer Garner as a vigilante, earned far less rage from the critical class than Willis’ remake.
"Dirty Harry" Would Still Work Today
Critics would still savage any new vigilante thriller, regardless of its quality or content. And, more importantly, audiences would line up to see someone finally take out the trash.
Here’s betting the “Sound of Freedom” effect would kick in after the media savaged the film. That’s when a movie is unfairly skewered by the press, making it even more intriguing to the average film goer.
Now, just imagine the actors who could take on the Dirty Harry-style mantle today. Don’t think stars like Jason Statham or Dwayne Johnson. We need an Everyman (or Everywoman) here, so audiences can better identify with their rage. Perhaps a star with a slight build such as Timothee Chalamet or even Tina Fey, someone known for her intellectual heft who loses all control on screen.
Cast extremely against type, and the formula is even more enticing.
The ironic part? That 2018 “Death Wish” remake disappointed during its theatrical run with $34 million stateside. Willis’ career was on the downslide at the time and crime wasn’t front and center on most news casts.
It is today. Even the corrupt press can’t make it disappear.
The other problem with a possible vigilante thriller tied to the latest headlines? Hollywood wouldn’t go near the subject. The press would pounce and seize, and the story could attract all the wrong praise (from conservatives and urban dwellers sick of being afraid).
An avowed liberal like Fey wouldn't take the gig for any price.
The proposed film would have to come from outside Hollywood, Inc., much like “Sound of Freedom” required an upstart movie company (Angel Studios) to make it happen.
The latter film’s success should be all the proof necessary that Hollywood refuses to tell certain stories, and that there’s a massive audience for these forbidden tales.