I felt a little conflicted about the first movie, since I thought it seemed silly that a cop wouldn't know that he has to follow certain protocol in order to get a conviction. This time, Harry's role is reversed.
I'm sure there will be some spoilers.
While Harry remains flip, and can be casually rude to authority figures, he behaves much more appropriately. We see him not just catch criminals, but we also see him doing some more serious investigation - some ballistics comparisons. Throughout the movie, he remains measured, even a bit cautious.
We also get more character development as well. The estranged wife of another cop tries to seduce him. A girl who lives in his apartment building also has some sort of relationship with him. These plots mostly just serve to make him come across as being a desirable guy. But it also shows that his aloofness applies to his personal life as well.
There were a few technical issues. Occasionally, the film seemed be out of focus. I have a suspicion that they were trying to work with some auto-focus tool, since it seemed to be always in shots over someone's shoulder, as they talk to another person.
But there were some very good choices made in handling the production. During the last fifteen minutes or so, I noticed that, despite an intense chase, and a cat-and-mouse sequence, there was very little music. This was exactly the right choice. You can hear exactly what he hears, and the tension is raised perfectly. Callahan also isn't a fantastic fighter. He's an excellent shot, but in hand-to-hand, he seems tough, but not especially skilled.
There were a few other things of note - they toned down some of the less admirable qualities, including some implied racism from the first movie. And I don't think anyone actually calls him Dirty Harry in this one.
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