Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

alexanderdavies-99382 It is no surprise that a sequel to the masterpiece "The French Connection" was commissioned. After all, the 1971 film helped to define a much more realistic kind of Hollywood movie and is in a league of its own. Gene Hackman brought so much depth to the tough cop, Popeye Doyle. In the hands of a lesser actor, the character would have become one-dimensional. Released in 1975, "French Connection 2," is actually very good on its own terms. Naturally, Gene Hackman was brought back and so was Fernando Rey as the drug dealer who eluded capture in the previous film. Aside from actor Ed Lauter, every cast member in this sequel is French apart from Hackman. It made sense to have this 1975 film, seeing as there were a few loose ends from before. Being set and filmed in Marseilles, we see a more vulnerable side to Popeye Doyle. He doesn't know any area of France, he has never been to that particular country before, so his being on alien territory makes him a target in more ways than one. There are some good action scenes which keep the viewer interested but the film suffers from overlength. If the running time had been trimmed by about 15 minutes, then the narrative would have been stronger. This is no fault of the director, John Frankenheimer. He certainly deserves more recognition as he made some very good films. The drug addiction reference makes for rather uncomfortable viewing as we see first hand, Doyle's graphic and disturbing withdrawal symptoms. I can understand why this was included in "French Connection 2," as Fernando Rey is determined to rid himself of this cop who has been a thorn in his side from day 1. He will employ any means necessary to rid himself of his adversary. However, the drug addiction took up too much screen time. Regardless, it is testament to how tough Doyle is as his fighting spirit is still there. Surviving his ordeal, only makes him that more determined to catch his man. The French police with whom Doyle works, view him with a certain degree of suspicion and concern. After all, Doyle's reputation precedes him....... There isn't so much of the humour or camaraderie that is so evident in the previous film but one scene that is quite droll is as follows: when Gene Hackman goes to a bar and he can't make himself understood very well as his French is limited and the barmans English is even worse! Then after a few drinks together, they merrily walk the streets of Marseilles after the bar is closed. That was a good scene. This isn't a classic but worth viewing all the same. There were plans by "20th Century Fox" to produce a third "French Connection" film with Gene Hackman being paired with Richard Pryor as his new partner. It was scheduled for production for about 1979. That sounds interesting, a shame it didn't bear fruition.

s-fi-r Number of French cops looking full time for missing unwanted/despised American cop (Doyle) = 52. Number of armed French cops on raid of major international drug smuggling ring = 3 + plus Doyle (unarmed). Most of the 20 or so drug smugglers are in the bottom of a very deep dry dock, the size of an ocean going ship, with no way out except up a flight of steps. Two drug smugglers are on the quay, at the top. What is the best way to capture the well armed drug smugglers? Keep them in the dry dock? Not if you are the French police. Instead send your chief cop down into the dry dock, with his handgun, taking Doyle (unarmed). You can guess what happens. One cop gets shot, all the drug smugglers escape and open the sluice gates to flood the dry dock, trapping the very best of French and US cops.

Katerina Robertovla I rated this as a 4 because the acting and the actors were very good. However, the script was preposterous, improbable and totally laughable. I watched his via Netflix tonight and was glad that I had the option to fast forward over the middle section of the film where Charnier captures Popeye Doyle , etc. I cannot believe or conceive that someone would sit down to a typewriter or a computer and write such dreck. This mid section caused the whole film to go off kilter and became a sort of us sinking, sinking ship. Which is apropos to it being set in Marseille-- a very big port city with lots of boats and ships. Yes, that's what I would call this film... a sinking ship in the port of Marseille. Finally, the ending made me just shake my head and say what a rip off. Whoever wrote the script must really hate movie lovers.

Shawn Watson In this vastly underrated sequel (the first true Hollywood '2') Popeye travels to (more like discarded to) Marseilles after his crushing defeat at the end of the first film. The recovered heroin was stolen right out of the police evidence and made it to the street regardless, lining the pockets of Popeye's crooked colleagues. That's the price you pay for being honest.The French don't want him and make no attempts to hide their discourteousness as Popeye hits the streets, desperately looking for the elusive 'Frog 1'. His tough-guy schtick may have worked in the Big Apple but in France he's hopelessly incompetent and way out of his depth. Calling him a fish out of water is to put it lightly.Instead of being a carbon copy of the original, FCII takes a radical turn in the second act as Charnier captures Popeye and turns him into a junkie, the thing he hates even more than criminals. Near-death, and humiliated by Charnier even further, Popeye undergoes a harrowing withdrawal, going cold turkey in a French police cell while his partner looks after him (there ain't no gratitude though). Barely waiting two seconds to regain his strength, the hunt is back on to finally get revenge on Charnier.John Frankenheimer's take on the story is much slower and drama-orientated than the quick, raw energy of the first. Going deeper into Popeye Doyle's unstable, edgy personality makes it more of a character study and a bit of an epic when compared to what William Friedkin gave us.The ending may be as abrupt as the first, but it wastes no time in winding down the story. FCII might have the best, sudden climax of any movie ever made.Don't misjudge it as a 'same again' sequel, it's very different and is brave enough to take the character and story is a bold direction. Frankenheimer's career was full of underrated efforts, but FCII is the best of them.