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Dead Pool, The

EMAIL PRINTWarner Bros.

N/A User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 15 critic reviews
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Action | Crime | Drama | Suspense/Thriller

Written by: Harry Julian Fink (characters), Rita M. Fink (characters)
Steve Sharon (story), Durk Pearson (story), Sandy Shaw (story)
Steve Sharon

Directed by: Buddy Van Horn

Release Date:
Theatrical: July 13, 1988
DVD: November 20, 2001

Running Time: 91 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for violence and profanity

Starring Clint Eastwood, Patricia Clarkson, Liam Neeson, David Hunt, Michael Goodwin, Jim Carrey, Evan C. Kim, and Michael Currie

Dirty Harry Callahan investigates and strange game in which individuals bet on who will be the next celebrity to die. The game gets more serious for Dirty Harry when he becomes the next bet.

Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The film is smart, quick, and made with real wit. It's never just a crude action movie, bludgeoning us with violence. It's self-aware, it knows who Dirty Harry is and how we react to him, and it has fun with its intelligence. Also, of course, it bludgeons us with violence.

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Chicago Tribune Gene Siskel

Where the previous sequels have been mostly dour gun blasts, The Dead Pool is a thriller with wit and humor and tension. [15 Jul 1988, p.A]

Variety Staff (Not Credited)

The Dead Pool isn't the best and brightest of the Dirty Harry films, either, but just as invincible. It's possible that Clint Eastwood and crew are just enjoying a bit of self-mockery with this one.

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Wall Street Journal Julie Salamon

There weren't any surprises and that's what made it all so comforting. The bad guys got blown away, no questions asked, the snoopy journalists got their comeuppance. When Clint spends the night with his latest girl, you know it only because he wears the same suit the next morning. [21 Jul 1988, p.1]

Time Richard Corliss

Eastwood can earn both laughs and respect just by standing in a crowded elevator and grunting ''Swell'' to his boss. Truth is, this time around, he doesn't get to do much else. [18 July 1988, p.73]

USA Today Mike Clark

The result isn't pretentious, but is the tongue-in-cheeking ever slight. The murders are treated as jokes, there's a horror-motif rock video, and Harry dodges enough bullets with Patricia Clarkson to arm Sands of Iwo Jima. [13 Jul 1988, p.1D]

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

An episodic thriller that certainly has its moments, but eventually peters out into dull formula standbys; Eastwood's Harry seems weary of his own sarcastic witticisms, and the ones here won't make anybody's day.

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TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)

Fifth entry in the "Dirty Harry" series, a definite step backwards from the fascinating and ultimately disturbing progression of Eastwood's character in Sudden Impact.

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Film Threat Brad Laidman

This is Dirty Harry's greatest hits, which is a little fun and a little embarrassing. The best part of the film is a warped version of "Bullitt"'s San Francisco car chase through Pacific Heights.

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Boston Globe Jay Carr

The Dead Pool is not a subtle movie or a bloodless one, although it does manage to put its own twist on the usual car chase sequence. [13 Jul 1988, p.59]

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

The Dead Pool isn't much of a movie. It certainly isn't as fun, nor as compelling as its predecessors, and now and then the forced plot gets so ridiculous that it is certain to try the patience of even the most die-hard viewers. [13 Jul 1988, p.E1]

Los Angeles Times Michael Wilmington

With its stylized story-line and almost styleless direction, it sometimes resembles a juggling act with sledgehammers. [13 Jul 1988, p.1]

The New York Times Vincent Canby

The Dead Pool, possesses a couple of good jokes, but nothing can disguise the fact that it's a mini-movie in the company of a mythic figure.

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Washington Post Desson Howe

Unless you're a Clint fan there's little other reason to sit through this one.

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The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott

In The Dead Pool, Dirty Harry is downright dusty. The erstwhile right-wing San Francisco homicide inspector has mellowed so much in the fifth installment of his adventures that he's become the darling of the liberal Bay Area media and he seems almost bored by blowing people away. [13 Jul 1988, p.C7]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 0.0 (out of 10) based on 0 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.