The motivation of the chief villain at the end.

As sequels go Magnum Force was passable enough entertainment, which suffers from relying on tropes that have become all too synonymous with this sub-genre of the Action/Thriller category. ie. The maverick, back-talking, no nonsense cop that bucks authority etc. Perhaps it's because I've seen so many similar films of this ilk that which would have seemed fresher then is less so now. That aside another issue I had was that the motivations of the vigilante cops, particularly Lt. Briggs in the end are not well enough fleshed out.

Early on it's established that Briggs is very much a contrast to Harry Callahan. He's not the Maverick his subordinate is, and likes to do things by the book and prides himself on having never having to shoot and kill a "perp." in the line of duty. True, it's doubtless that he became fed up with fellow police officers being killed on the streets and criminals walking free due to the flawed justice system. However, what makes one man of many in his police force who is/was arguably more straight laced than his fellow cops change and go that bit further than his colleagues. It would have been good to see some hints or clues early on that might have accounted for what I assume was a change of philosophy. However, the "revelation" although I didn't see it coming up until just before it happened never really knocked me for six and struck me as gratuitous and shallow. What are anyone else's thought on this?