Jakester
It's not fair to compare this film with "The French Connection" which is a once-in-a-generation coming together of perfect script, perfect cast, and perfect director. (Also perfect timing - America was very worried circa 1971 about whether big cities like NYC were governable. Plenty of academics said "No they're not!") That said, I will proceed with my comparison. The greatest strength of "The French Connection" is its gritty realism - its near-documentary feel. We are convinced this is how New York cops speak, move, and behave on the mean streets while chasing down drug traffickers. We miss this in "The French Connection II" where, too often, things feel artificial, forced, staged.The second big problem with "II" is all the fricking scenery chewing going on. Gene Hackman was a 900 pound elephant by the time the producers started developing this picture - what he wanted, he got. I would be willing to bet that he wanted the addiction/withdrawal sequence to be lengthy and detailed ("Hey, I can really ACT here and get me some AWARDS"). The sequence ends up being show-offy after 15 minutes. (I will say, the way Hackman says "Dandy little southpaw" is gorgeous.) The score is mediocre (a sharp contrast to the razor-sharp, minimalist scoring of the original, even though they're written by the same guy). The photography is average (again a sharp contrast).Re the fish-gutting sequence at the beginning of the film - this would work much better if we were informed from the outset that they're looking for drugs, then we'd find their work funny and intriguing rather than weird. Re the cultural/language gulf between a New York Irish cop and Marseille - this is moderately amusing for a while but gets played-up too much. Re the red truck in the heroin lab - it's parked a good 60 feet from where it logically should be; this is Amateur Hour filmmaking, done merely to create a little bit extra shoot-'em-up excitement. Re the inside of the heroin lab with all the test tubes and lab technicians - this is interesting stuff - much more could have been done with it.
sol-
As with the best sequels out there, 'French Connection II' does not attempt to copy or outdo the original. The reliable John Frankenheimer takes the helm this time round and places a unique spin on the story, completely switching locations so that Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle is now tracking down Fernando Rey's heroine kingpin in his own home ground of Marseilles. Frankenheimer also shies away from turning the film into one chase sequence after another as per the original. On one hand, this takes away from the adrenaline rush of Part One, but on the other hand, it gives us a chance to really get under Doyle's skin - something not possible given the pacing of the first film. Doyle's frustration is also doubled this time round as he is not just tracking down a drug trafficker, but one who eluded him once before, and while his anger over the way the French run things uneasily makes the French seem incompetent at times, it is important for characterising him. Things get even more interesting around a third of the way in as Rey manages to capture Doyle and, rather than kill him, gets him addicted to heroine instead to discredit the US police force. Hackman's scenes coping with his addiction are remarkably intense, however, the film does not stop there with some chase sequences too towards that resonate all the more since we know just how much Hackman has gone through in his attempts to track Rey down this time. Calling this a superior sequel seems to be the equivalent of movie heresy, but it does at least do more to explore Doyle as a fallible human being.
Desertman84
After the movie fans are treated to an action movie classic in The French Connection,a little known movie was made four years later this time only presenting Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in his travel to France in The French Connection II.Gene Hackman returns to portray his role of Popeye once again together with Fernando Rey,who portrays Alan Charnier,the drug kingpin that eluded Popeye in the first film. John Frankenheimer directs the movie.The story picks up with Narcotics Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle still on the hunt for drug kingpin Alan Charnier,who is also known as Frog One,after he eluded him and his partner Buddy"Cloudy" Russo.On the trail for Frog One,Popeye goes to France by himself and leaves New York.He lands on Marseilles.But he gets captured by one of Frog One's henchmen and injects him full of drugs with the hope of turning him into a drug junkie and send him to jail.ButHenri Barthélémy asked the help of the police look for Popeye.After Barthélémy has located him,Popeye undergoes a so-called "cold turkey" treatment wherein the drugs injected from him was withdrawn.After his treatment, Popeye gets up to hunt down for Frog One until justice was meted out.No question that this film was solid and well- made.It was well- acted too especially Gene Hackman who portrayed Popeye very well.It remained as explosive and tension-filled as the first movie.The story was also interesting especially the experience of Popeye being injected with drugs and withdrawn from it afterwards.It was a good way the big difference between a person who is a junkie and that one who is free of drugs.But in spite of it all, Too bad the expectations were higher and it wasn't able to be as compelling as the original film.Too bad it precedes a classic film and suffers from being a sequel.
poe426
THE FRENCH CONNECTION was good enough to stand alone- and not just because it was a great movie, but because the Real Life "Charnier," a war hero who helped the Resistance against the Nazis in World War II, was never held accountable for his drug dealing(s) by the French government. He got away with it. End of story. But, Hollywood being Hollywood, there had to be a sequel to such a successful movie- thus, FRENCH CONNECTION II. Despite the inevitable ending- which undercuts the irony of the original film's ending-, there IS a long, drawn out sequence that makes the whole thing worthwhile: Doyle's addiction and "rehabilitation." Unfortunately, even THIS sequence isn't original in its conception: it's a rehash (if you will) of a similar scene in MURDER, MY SWEET, wherein the hero, Marlowe, is kidnapped and hooked on drugs. He, too, undergoes painful withdrawal- but, for my money, it was done better in MURDER, MY SWEET than in FRENCH CONNECTION II. Not a complete waste of time, but a far cry from the original.
AD
