The Dead Pool (1988)

Review by All Movie Guide
The fifth and probably final entry in Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry series is an efficient and occasionally witty retrofitting of the familiar formula. The title refers to a betting pool being held in San Francisco in which participants try to guess which one of a group of eight celebrities will be the first to die. When one of them is murdered, Harry begins his investigation while being hounded by obnoxious television reporter Samantha Walker (Patricia Clarkson), with whom he eventually becomes involved. Although it's basically business as usual for Harry, who, at this point seems more dyspeptic than dirty, Eastwood gets in a few ideas between shootouts. Without a trace of irony, he tells Walker how disgusted he is with the way the news media exploits violence to spike ratings. Of course, this new Gandhian Harry then gets right back to blowing people away. Also in a comic vein is the parody of the famed Bullitt (1968) car chase, as Harry is forced to dodge an explosives-laden, tiny model car rampaging through the streets of San Francisco. In a film without much interest in anyone who might be emoting, Liam Neeson has a fine turn as a horror film director. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide