History Film / MagnumForce

* EvilIsSexy: the vigilante cops are young, clean cut, handsome, ride powerful motorcycles, carry Magnum revolvers and wear tight black leather police uniforms complete with cool sunglasses. In any other film they would be the attractive heroes. According to writer John Milius before this film no one in the police force wanted to be a motorcycle cop but afterwards the role became much more popular.

* NauseaDissonance: Harry is called to the scene of a murder with his partner. One of the cops there comments on how the inside of the victim's car is just filled with all kinds of brain parts (the audience doesn't see this) and generally goes into the most gross bodies he's seen. Harry is unaffected but his partner looks at the body and then [[VomitingCop turns to go puke]].

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Invoked when Harry delivers his KirkSummation.

* ArcWords: Repeated several times over, which explores the lengths Harry is willing to go to in his war on crime, as well as setting up a supposedly similar group of rookie cops who go to worse lengths than Harry.

* SaltAndPepper: Harry with new partner Smith.

* HuntingTheRogue: Detective Callahan deduce that three rookie cops have decided to become judge, jury and executioner to the various criminals they encounter. While Callahan is a CowboyCop not in the department's best graces, he's still LawfulGood, as opposed to the rogue cops who've taken to PlayingGod. "A man's got to know his limitations."

Creator/HalHolbrook plays Briggs, DaChief. Post previously directed Creator/ClintEastwood in ''Film/HangEmHigh''. ''Magnum Force'' was co-written by future directors [[Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982 John Milius]] and Creator/MichaelCimino.

* TheSociopath: Despite the death squad having [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]], they are TheUnfettered when it comes to killing anyone even innocent victims who gets in their way of their executions of criminals, showing that without a sense of restraint, the crooked cops used the vigilante initiative to heartlessly satisfy their blood lust without regard for collateral damage.

* CoitusEnsues: An Asian woman living in Harry's building flat-out asks Harry what a woman has to do to go to bed with him. He replies, "Try knocking on the door." Though Briggs calls to [[InterruptedIntimacy interrupt their intimacy]], she's waiting for him when he gets back. The woman has no role in the plot except providing an OhCrap moment when she goes to open Callahan's mailbox for him.

* HollywoodSilencer: Before killing Lou Guzman and his entourage, Officer John Davis attaches a silencer to his Colt Python revolver. Not only would it be completely ineffective (very few revolvers are designed to work with suppressors, and the Python is most emphatically not one of those revolvers), the way it's attached ([[http://www.imfdb.org/images/4/4c/DH2ColtPython-4.jpg just slid over the barrel]]) it would fly right off.

* HollywoodSilencer: Before killing Lou Guzman and his entourage, Officer John Davis attaches a silencer to his Colt Python revolver. Not only would it be completely ineffective, the way it's attached ([[http://www.imfdb.org/images/4/4c/DH2ColtPython-4.jpg just slid over the barrel]]) it would fly right off.

-->'''Smith:''' Yeah, but Sweet died today!
-->'''Callahan:''' Sweet was sacrificed. What's more important if I'm right, I'll be sacrificed. [[YouKnowTooMuch They've gotta figure I told you, which means you'll be sacrificed.]]

* UriahGambit: Briggs declares that the killings are mob related and orders a massive wave of arrests. Harry is sent to arrest Frank Palancio, a known mob hitman, who receives a mysterious phone call saying they're going to be hit by men dressed as cops. After what happened to Carmine Ricca, Palancio isn't inclined to take chances and opens fire when Sweet knocks on the door. Harry doesn't have to be told that he was set up by someone who's willing to regard the death of a fellow cop as a NecessaryEvil.

* CoitusEnsues: An Asian woman living in Harry's building flat-out asks Harry what a woman has to do to go to bed with him. He replies, "Knock on my door." Though Briggs calls to [[InterruptedIntimacy interrupt their intimacy]], she's waiting for him when he gets back. The woman has no role in the plot except providing an OhCrap moment when she goes to open Callahan's mailbox for him.

* ArcWords: Repeated several times over, which explores the lengths Harry is willing to go to in his war on crime, as well as setting up a supposedly {{not so different}} group of rookie cops who go to worse lengths than Harry.

* RealityEnsues:
** Harry kills the last two members of the Magnum Force by punching one repeatedly in the throat and forcing the other off the side of an aircraft carrier, causing him to fall into the ocean from a significant height and die on impact. Both methods of death are generally non-lethal in movies but have a good chance of being fatal in real life.
** For that matter, the way the vigilante cops' scheme goes awry is pretty realistic. They do blow away some genuinely deserving people, like the murderous pimp or the various mob bosses, but several innocent people are caught in the crossfire, and [[spoiler:Davis]] eventually shoots [[spoiler:Charlie [=McCoy=]]] when he stumbles onto him at the scene of the crime.

* KindaBusyHere: While Callahan is breaking into his own letterbox rather than just using the key, a tenant comes up and starts complaining...until Callahan removes the bomb he finds inside. [[spoiler:Then he tries to call Smith and warn him, but the latter ignores the ringing phone in favor of opening his mailbox and gets killed.]]

* NauseaDissonance: Harry is called to the scene of a murder with his partner. One of the cops there comments on how the inside the victim's car is just filled with all kinds of brain parts (the audience doesn't see this) and generally goes into the most gross bodies he's seen. Harry is unaffected but his partner looks at the body and then [[VomitingCop turns to go puke]].

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: John Milius based his script on the "death squads" employed by the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_squad#Brazil Brazilian military dictatorship]], which received heavy press coverage in the early '70s; Harry makes a fleeting reference to them late in the film. In particular, Milius [[ShownTheirWork demonstrates his knowledge]] by alluding to the fact that, in contrast to some other Latin American death squads, their Brazilian equivalent was analogous to the motorcycle cops inasmuch as they were less concerned with punishing explicitly political offenses than meting out vigilante justice for perceived crimes, and the resulting extrajudicial executions were often carried out by [[PunchClockVillain off-duty policemen]].

* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: The assumption by the investigating detectives is that the killings are the work of a hitman disguised as a policeman, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Valentine%27s_Day_Massacre which has happened before]], and not that the killings are the work of ''actual cops''. Only Harry suspects the truth (and even he gets the culprit and motivation wrong, initially suspecting a colleague who is cracking up).