Dirty Harry local and federal police committing offences and overstepping their authority by entrapment and obstruction of justice. Author McGilligan, argued that America needed a hero, a winner at a time when the authorities were losing the battle against crime. The box-office success of "Dirty Harry" led to the production of four sequels. In the 2007 film "Zodiac", also set in San Francisco and inspired by the Zodiac Killer, cartoonist Robert Graysmith approaches police detective Dave Toschi at the cinema, where he is watching "Dirty Harry" with his wife. When Graysmith tells Toschi he is going to catch the Zodiac killer, Toschi
Dirty Harry of the city, not as a place of moods but as a theater for action." Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" called it "a high-style film with lowbrow appeal, a movie after which you may dislike yourself for liking it as much as you do." A section of the Philippine police force ordered a print of the film for use as a training film. Since its release, the film's critical reputation has grown in stature. "Dirty Harry" was selected in 2008 by "Empire" magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. It was placed similarly on