"The Dead Pool" fails to achieve the same high profile level of success and popularity as "Sudden Impact" (1983) and it isn't particularly difficult to understand why. "Sudden Impact" is notoriously violent with an almost ceaseless barrage of senseless shootings and beatings, but more importantly than this it still has a sense of enthusiasm and you do have the distinct feeling the cast really wants to participate, although that doesn't appear to be the case here. "The Dead Pool" too often feels as if it is being treated as something of an unpalatable chore which Clint Eastwood must carry out as quickly and efficiently and satisfactorily as possible just to please Warner Brothers and perhaps to provide them with yet another box office bonanza. However, even though there is an unmistakable atmosphere of lethargy in the air all the time, this is still a well paced and entertaining distraction.
