First of four sequels to Dirty Harry – written by John Milius (who doctored the original) and Michael Cimino – returned Clint Eastwood’s iconic Inspector Harry Callahan to the streets of San Francisco. Not exactly a criminal rights advocate, the intriguing premise finds Callahan investigating a string of murders against a rogue’s gallery of scumbags.

Not only did the sequel have two talented screenwriters on board, but Eastwood is joined by Hal Holbrook, Clarence Williams III, David Soul, Tim Matheson and Robert Urich, the strongest cast the series would ever boast.

To answer critics who felt Dirty Harry was a fascist, Milius dreamed up real fascists for the villains, rogue cops. He also contributed a great tag line, “A man’s got to know his limitations” which is used to good effect and rivals “Do you feel lucky, punk?” as a classic quip. One-liners were Dirty Harry’s gift to the modern cop film, but the neat ideas aside, this is a by-the-numbers sequel that suffers from TV direction by Ted Post.

The film severely misses the street documentary look and bold direction Don Siegel gave the original. There’s extensive violence, but against pimps, gangsters and pornographers who appear to have leapt straight out of a comic book. San Francisco’s diverse civilian population was ruthlessly targeted in the original, making the film far more grounded in reality. But like most sequels, Magnum Force began to take the series down the road of parody.

Elegant lighting by Frank Stanley and rousing music by Lalo Schifrin are standouts, but this flick can’t shake being just another cops vs. scumbags shoot ‘em up. The next sequel, The Enforcer, would have an even weaker, TV feel to it.