This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for Harry to return to fight off some more crime. Unfortunately for him, the guy doesn’t have much backup this time. The film shows even more just how inept everyone tends to be without him and corruption is through the roof. I think the movie goes a little too far with this at times here but I dare say it has a slight touch of comedy at times which helps to push things through. If it was fully serious it might almost get a bit depressing.

The film starts off with some guys getting murdered as a terrorist group continues to gain ground for some kind of nefarious purpose. Meanwhile Harry pulls off another stunning victory over the forces of evil but there was a whole lot of collateral damage and he’s demoted. He now has to work with a lady named Kate thanks to a new initiative where they are trying to get more girls on the force. Harry is against this, not because Kate is a girl but because things should be done in a meritocracy. Promoting her just for this reason strikes him as a little silly although the silliness is just beginning. Can Kate prove that she has what it takes?

I think the rough part here is of course we know part of the message is that Kate is ready for action and can back him up but she looks really bad at first. She is clearly not prepared for any of this and nearly gets blown away during a missile practice exercise. It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence when you are counting on this person to watch your back in a life or death situation right? It takes a very long time for Kate to really be combat ready and by then we’re approaching the end of the film so you know what’s about to happen. For what it’s worth, I do think she’s a likable character. Her heart’s in the right place but she was in over her head.

Harry is a fun lead as always. Super gruff and to the point. He can be rather rude for sure but at least you always know he is speaking his mind and not sugar coating things. He’s still just as good a fighter as he ever was and age has not gotten the best of him. The guy puts up with a whole lot but ultimately keeps on going to help people. So I admire the drive and there is really nothing to dislike about the guy. He always puts his best foot forward and is an inspiration to everyone around him.

Now the police captain looks real bad here. For starters, he really wants good press and to look good for the mayor. So he’s running around spoiling Harry’s plans and generally not caring about anything. Arresting Harry’s informant was absolutely terrible. The guy was only looking out for the short term benefits there. It’s clear that he wasn’t actually thinking of the public good. Then by the end he’s absolutely given up as expected and doesn’t even realize that the fight was already over. This is the kind of person that Harry has to work with on a daily basis.

The worst part? Harry is outranked by this guy so there is only so much you can do. It has to be absolutely disheartening to be the best man on the force but to not be ranked high enough to actually make a difference in these things. It’s the ultimate frustration. Then you mayor as well who falls into all of the same traps. He wants votes and he wants results but the guy can’t wait long enough to get them the right way. He’s the kind of guy who would jump into a trap just to spite Harry and to show that he can make his own decisions. He’s not the smartest guy at all.

The villains are okay but not super memorable. They have their own motives and all but at the end of the day they basically are terrorists. Their message gets lost early on when they’re murdering everyone. It always takes a rather huge kind of message to counter murders like that. You need to have an extremely powerful message for me to even begin to think of supporting you by this point. These guys don’t though so they lose the credibility rather quickly.

Like I mentioned earlier, one of the film’s strengths is that it does throw in some good humor from time to time though. Harry’s dry wit really works well in different scenes and then you also have a lot of crazy stuff going on like one of the terrorists being in a nun outfit and the pastor generally being super unhelpful. You can’t really stay neutral or talk about nonviolence when you have terrorists inside the building with you. People are unhelpful to a comedic extreme, corrupt to an extreme, and everything is just big and crazy. Even the way Harry handles the opening case is rather funny with how nonchalant he is about it.

The humor never goes too far or wrecks the tone of the film though. It is absolutely a lighter tone than the last film but it’s handled smoothly and isn’t forceful. It just works here and not every film has to have some kind of super deep message after all. This film is also a lot shorter than the last one so in a way this may have been a decision to just make this more of a basic action film. You can never really go wrong with that as long as the writing is good and I thought it was rather solid. The ending may not be quite as solid as the last one since it’s way more of a hollow victory but it’s still good enough. Harry shows off his attitude to the end and we get one last gag of sorts.

Overall, The Enforcer is a good film. I don’t think it quite has the depth of the last one but it’s still a good adventure. In a way it continues to show just how corrupt things are to the point where Harry has to rely on other criminals to get the info he needs on the main villains. He can’t rely on the cops or their information networks which is really rough when you think about it. With the mayor pushing all of his social justice policies in, Harry can see how it might get even worse in the future. He may complain, but ultimately he keeps on getting the job done though and that’s what is important. I would recommend checking this film out, you’ll have a good time.

Overall 6/10