The Dead Pool

The Dead Pool (1988)

Runtime: 91 minutes

Directed by: Buddy Van Horn

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Patricia Clarkson, Liam Neeson, Evan C. Kim, David Hunt

From: Warner Bros.

You know, Eastwood hated the media long before Richard Jewell.

In the past I've revisited the other Dirty Harry movies and I enjoyed that process; I put off The Dead Pool as I recalled it not being the best coda for the character. This is true, although I can say it was still fine and somehow, I had forgotten just how anti-media this movie was. An entire subplot revolves around a television reporter lady “becoming friendly” with Harry and this offers him-and the film-many opportunities to rail against how exploitative and trashy the media is. I have my suspicions as to why Eastwood would feel this way about them in the 80's, but I don't want to speculate here; this opinion did not begin with Richard Jewell, not by a longshot.

The plot: Wade Wilso... er, I mean Harry Callahan gets involved in a case where someone is killing the cast & crew of a low-budget horror movie directed by David Swan (Liam Neeson!), a controversial figure; the titular Dead Pool is like the Death Pools you've seen on the Internet for years where a game is made out of picking celebrities who will pass away in a given year, whether it be due to old age, illness, drug problems or any other factor that puts their life at risk. Of course, the movie also bemoans how macabre this practice is. People on Swan's Dead Pool list are the victims of murder but naturally it isn't as simple as it appears.

This is by far the shortest Dirty Harry picture and after such villains as vigilante cops and The Scorpio Killer, someone murdering those on a B-movie production does seem slight in comparison. Plus, there are some really stupid moments and I have never figured out why there are some dangling plot threads and characters who you presume will have more of a role in the movie but essentially vanish. Now, seeing a remote control car equipped w/ a bomb chasing after an automobile on the streets of San Francisco... a unique idea. At least in the film, it comes across as incredibly goofy; it definitely won't make you forget Bullitt, especially with the vehicle being chased not a '68 Mustang GT but rather a crappy 80's Oldsmobile sedan that Harry drove as a car belonging to the police department. Somehow, doesn't seem dignified... and my first vehicle was a crappy 80's Oldsmobile station wagon.


Despite all those demerits, I can say that this was fine. Eastwood as Harry is a big asset, between the character's star power and one-liners. The general idea of the story is interesting and the finale was amusingly OTT. Neeson in a big role was nice. Speaking of being unrestrained, “James Carrey” has a small role as a drug-abusing leather pants wearing rock star; it was an in your face role so of course Carrey was a good choice for the part. Such things as Patricia Clarkson in the role of the television reporter lady make up for how Callahan has a Chinese-American as his partner and OF COURSE that guy knows martial arts. The performance I can't complain about, yet that is what I'll forever remember best about that character. As this final entry could have been a disaster, I can accept that the character's swan song wasn't something dire like Beverly Hills Cop 3.