9 Movie Franchises That Literally Do The Same Thing Repeatedly

9. Convenient Robberies - Dirty Harry

"Dirty" Harry Callahan, presumably named for his habitual aroma of stale cigarettes and sweat, codified the "cowboy cop" archetype. He's a loose-cannon who lets his gun do the talking, unconcerned with things like constitutional rights or due process, but he's the best they've got, dammit! After his first outing was (rightly) called out for its borderline-fascist undertones, the sequels had Harry chase down a broad array of criminals, including renegade cops who had formed their own vigilante death squad.

One thing the films just can't help though is Harry's uncanny ability to stumble upon robberies when chowing down on a hotdog or ordering a crap cup of coffee. The first occurrence of this, in 1971's Dirty Harry, culminates in Eastwood's now legendary "do you feel lucky?" monologue. Magnum Force sees Harry take on an unexpected stick-up crew when on an unrelated stakeout. Harry just so happens to be in the neighbourhood so he can defuse a hostage situation (violently) in The Enforcer, by driving his car through a storefront. In Sudden Impact, Harry straight-up murders 4 robbers in a cafe, and finally in The Dead Pool appears to be the only cop in Chinatown available to shoot a bunch more dudes holding up a Chinese restaurant.

We get it, Eastwood, every single cop in the city apart from you is an ineffectual goofball.