YMMV / The Dead Pool

• Contested Sequel: Universally agreed to be the weakest installment of the franchise. Also considered an unnecessary sequel after the series seemed to come to a logical conclusion after the very dark and edgy Sudden Impact. That being said, however, it does have its fair share of fans like the other Dirty Harry sequels.
• Franchise Original Sin: All of The Dead Pool's problems can be seen in Sudden Impact. Harry, arguably a heroic fascist ^note  if one ignores Magnum Force, worked best in the Seventies when attitudes towards crime and criminals were more liberal. The eighties were far more conservative and a cop like Harry is the rule, rather than the exception.
• Harsher in Hindsight: At one point, the police think Liam Neeson's character is the killer, before they realize someone is trying to make them think that. This gets a lot more difficult to see after Neeson admitted he considered killing someone back in his youth.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • No, Deadpool of Marvel Comics fame was not named after this movie. The concept of a "dead pool" predates them both.
  • Guns N' Roses' song "Welcome to the Jungle", which appeared in this film with Johnny Squares lip-syncing it in his Hotel Satan music video shoot, would later appear in promos for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (which featured Tim Matheson, who played one of the villainous vigilante cops, Phil Sweet, in Magnum Force), the sequel to Jumanji (which featured Patricia Clarkson, who plays the journalist Samantha in this film, as Alan Parrish's mother).
  • Fans of Call of Duty: Black Ops will probably laugh at the real life RC-XD trying to blow up Harry's car.
  • At the beginning of the movie, when being chased by criminals, Harry can be heard saying, "Get off my ass."
  • Jim Carrey has a small role in this movie. In The Mask and Bruce Almighty, he'd later do his best impressions of Dirty Harry.
• Narm:
  • The celebrity killer attempts to blow up Harry Callahan's car with a modified RC car infused with C4. However, the attempt fails when some kid playing with his own RC car interferes with the bomb-car's radio frequency. Instead of waiting for another opportunity, the killer starts a downright hilarious and awesome Bullitt style RC car chase across San Francisco. It gets especially funny when it dawns on you that Harry's driving a massive 8-cylinder sedan and yet somehow has trouble outrunning a radio-controlled toy. That must have been a hell of a modification, not to mention the insane skill the pursuer would need in driving both the RC vehicle and his own car at the same time in a high-speed chase.
  • It is impossible to watch Jim Carrey perform as Johnny Squares in his Hotel Satan music video shoot without laughing (even though it's not meant to be funny in the movie) Here, try it and see.
• One-Scene Wonder: Even before he was recognizable Jim Carrey's hammy performance as Johnny Squares was pretty awesome. Hilarious in hindsight as well since he seems now like a character straight out of In Living Color!.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Jim Carrey as Johnny Squares!!!
  • Liam Neeson as Peter Swan.
  • Charles Martinet appears as an extra in the film, years before his Star-Making Role as Mario.
• Signature Scene: The infamous RC car chase.
• Values Resonance:
  • During the scene where they discover the real killer, the psychologist in charge of Harlan Rook makes it clear that most mentally ill people are not violent, and Harlan Rook, despite being a serial killer, is still portrayed sympathetically due to his mental illness. This portrayal was very rare in the 80's, and it is much more relevant today.
  • Also the films commentary on media sensationalism and obsession with fame and celebrities has also stood the test of time.

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