The Dead Pool (DVD 2002)

There is a decidedly comic touch to this installment in the Dirty Harry franchise, the kind that makes it more eminently watchable than its otherwise strict formula of boilerplate action and escape sequences would have you believe.
Eastwood had visibly aged by this film, which he does well to display in his mature reserve as he takes potshots at the mafioso, television news, horror movies. His antics are strongly supported by an able lineup, including a very convincing Patricia Clarkson as a pesky news reporter with morality pangs, Liam Neeson as an avant-garde director from across the pond, and, surprise surprise, a young Jim Carrey as a rocker-slash-druggie. Probably the best cast of any Dirty Harry caper.

The plot is hardly an intrigue, but barring some cheesy ideas like a certain danger posed by a toy-car, the film has a good deal of suspense to keep you glued for its length.