Callan

If any TV spin-off should work, it's Callan, a descendant of Michael Caine's Harry Palmer, a loner, a technician who finds conscience clogging the wheels and his actions reverberating within an ever more disillusioning environment. In fact the film is solid rather than inspired, disastrously taking a good third of its running-time to establish its authority over the big screen. Apart from one brilliant cat-and-mouse game played in cars, most of the ideas seem to remain firmly in the admittedly strong script. Callan has even been awarded a Magnum à la Dirty Harry, and a tricksily filmed 'iron fist' technique to rival Lo Lieh's.