Sudden Impact (1983)
A rape victim is exacting revenge on her agressors in a small town outside San Francisco. Dirty Harry, on suspension for angering his superiors (again), is assigned to the case. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Clint Eastwood
Written By: Harry Julian Fink, Rita M. Fink
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Pat Hingle, Bradford Dillman, James McEachin, Sondra Locke, Albert Popwell, Michael Currie, Jack Thibeau, Audrie J. Neenan, Paul Drake
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller, Crime, Action
Franchise: Dirty Harry
Country: USA
Where to Stream
Loading...
Sudden Impact belongs to 16 collections
1. boobs (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 51 stars)
2. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)
3. #1 at the US Box Office (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 10 stars)
4. Sequel (collaborative: moderated by td888 - 9 stars)
5. Rape (collaborative: moderated by Moribunny - 7 stars)
6. Director/star combination (collaborative: moderated by djross - 5 stars)
7. Psychotic women (collaborative: moderated by mattburgess - 5 stars)
8. San Francisco (collaborative: moderated by Zarkon - 4 stars)
9. Coheed's Films I Need To See Or Try To Track Down (public: Coheed - 3 stars)
10. Police (collaborative: moderated by divide - 1 star)
11. Movies I Must See (public: gagknee - 1 star)
12. Lalo Schifrin (composer) (collaborative: moderated by djross)
13. To Watch (public: normalchaos)
14. Watched but not ranked (public: movieboy)
15. Owned (public: ribcage)
16. Laptop (public: Jason212)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 3 |  |
Ytadel | 7 83rd |
|
More guilty pleasure than legitimately good movie, with scattershot subplots all over, a wacky dog sidekick for Harry, and a comically nonstop barrage of action and murder, but it's still got Clint. Cool. Killing bad guys. Can't complain about that, and it's a big step up from the phoned-in third entry by any standard.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
INDYATMN | 81 61st |
|
Lots of implausibilities (bad guys don't shoot when they should; Harry just happens to run into the killer- TWICE?) & the finale adds some of the most egregious plotholes ever (Locke meets Harry on the beach right after one of her killings & he's made an arrest, they have sex & back to vengeance? Why does Harry go to the amusement park?) But a dark rape revenge story is perfect for Harry & the finale works. Even the softest liberal will want these guys killed & welcome Harry's iconic silhouette.
|
|||
| 3 |  |
LookJabba... | 6 41st |
|
Sudden Impact is my third favourite film of the series behind the original and the first sequel Magnum Force. Clint Eastwood is on top form and gives another effortless performance as Harry Callaghan. This time around he directs also. And visually this is a well made film and is probably the strongest of the series. The tone is very dark and there are some graphic scenes. The opening and final shoot outs in particular are two of my favourite Dirty Harry moments.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
purgatos | 57 27th |
|
My least favourite of all the Dirty Harry movies.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
chemical404 | 62 64th |
|
Dirty Harry series gets a slight giallo treatment. Movie doesn't add anything much to Harry character, but it's notably the darkest from the series, both visually and thematically. Villain characters are laughably one-dimensional and portrayal of the lesbian is really terrible. A good choice for midnight screening. It's easy to watch due to the quite simple and fragmented plot. Genre fans will enjoy this film, the rest should have given up on Harry two movies ago.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
moraesfelipe | 81 87th |
|
Severely underrated entry in the series -- every flashback fragment plays like a stylish nightmare, not to mention how tortured Harry looks in this one. Simply Clint Eastwood's Ms. 45, if there is a close example of the same period.
|
|||
| 2 |  |
overrated | 26 17th |
|
Outside of the great opening diner hostage scene, this is where the Dirty Harry series falls on its ass. He's more or less a side character in this dog-fart extravaganza. Eastwood shows his age while the main plot focuses on a female vigilante in a small town. Removed from the titular protagonist, Sudden Impact crosses the line from 'shoot first ask questions later' to a repulsive 'shoot the criminals in cold blood ten years after the fact' morality.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
MJVmovieMan | 71 52nd |
|
A sharp improvement over the third outing, "Sudden Impact" gives Eastwood directing reigns, and he finally takes Callahan to another level as the character's age sees a world not so black-and-white and by the letter of the law. This entry is very dark, thought-provoking, and much less of an ego film for the series. It just about matches the first two films on a different level, but it is entertaining and a step in a new direction for the iconic character, actor and filmmaker.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
Grit | 52 50th |
|
The first Dirty Harry directed by Eastwood and although some elements have deteriorated slightly, it's another competent production. Harry himself is still on form. "Listen, punk. To me you're nothin' but dogshit, you understand? And a lot of things can happen to dogshit. It can be scraped up with a shovel off the ground. It can dry up and blow away in the wind. Or it can be stepped on and squashed. So take my advice and be careful where the dog shits."
|
|||
| 1 | JamieShelton | 85 30th |
|
|
One of the relatively few things in action cinema that a true action cinema fan never tires of is Clint Eastwood wasting some bad guys with a 44 magnum. It really doesn't matter what the plot is, Eastwood during his prime is worth watching for watching's sake.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
KasperL | 30 10th |
|
Dreadful.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
mrandersen10 | 65 30th |
|
This series just gets stranger with each installment... but i think this is entertaining enough and a step up from The Enforcers. I enjoyed the darker, almost 80s slasher feel. The plot is silly and the villains are unremarkable throwaway characters, but overall, the action and humor make it a worthwhile watch.
|
|||
| 1 | forehead1 | 40 26th |
|
|
Another Dirty Harry movie in, another notch down in quality. Clint's character has almost morphed into a full parody of himself by this one, and the attempt to retain drama by focusing on a gang-rape revenge story fails. Unsurprising too, considering the climax involves baddies, script and shots so funny I reckon they inspired the house invasion sequence in Home Alone.
|
|||
| 1 |  |
glumpy_99 | 83 67th |
|
Enjoyable film in the DIRTY HARRY franchise, with Clint in fine form as Callahan, and Locke better than usual as Harry's love interest. Other supporting characters tend to be obnoxious, if not downright vile, and the ultimate story resolution is difficult to stomach. However Eastwood the director shows great skill in managing the action sequences, and a strong undercurrent of gruesome black humour helps it go down easier. 5 extra points for Schifrin's wonderful, 80s era synthesiser music score.
|
|||
| 1 | myfavchords | 85 88th |
|
|
Dirty Harry is at it again and I think this movie is one of the best in the series. Clint Eastwood is of course great and I enjoyed the story of this film
|
|||
| 1 | Zipster | 75 30th |
|
|
While Locke carries a mostly isolated parallel story of expressionistic paintings, .38-caliber vasectomies and disturbing flashbacks, Eastwood elucidates Harry's frontier sense of justice while continuing his push toward parody. At the core is an appropriately noir interpretation of the Dirty Harry conscience, played out deliberately by the maturing director and his vengeful muse through imagery etched out of raven blackness.
|
|||
| Average Percentile 42.87% from 724 Ratings |  |