French Connection II (1975)

Excellent, a Must See

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

One of the finest films ever made. Some say not as good as the first; some also say a good movie, but an unnecessary remake; I say it is even better than the first (that is saying A LOT) and completely necessary. The first 'The French Connection' was a classic of its time; completely deserving of its many awards; and masterfully directed demonstrating both the typical life of NYC Narcotics cops and the many losses which come with the war on drugs, ultimately questioning the utility of the war at all. It was much more 'story-telling' based and much slower than its sequel 'French Connection II.' In this movie, Gene Hackman excels even further, and the move shifts from an excellent telling of a non fiction story to a dark, gritty character study of our anti hero 'Popeye.' In a sense, the sequel is necessary because it completes the character development of Popeye and it shows how much he is willing to lose in his desperate pursuit of Charnier. The fiction element of the sequel allowed for the opportunity to make it conclude in style and the movie was otherwise well balanced as either entertaining or difficult to watch at times due to its graphic depiction of drug use, which is a balance very difficult to strike effectively. The chemistry between Popeye and the French detective was wonderful. The acting is super superb. The movie is essentially flawless, and it adds so much to the first movie by the very nature of engaging in an in depth study of Popeye. It is one of the best crime dramas ever made, and it is disappointing to see that it has not received as much attention by awards critics or the public in general.Maybe it is too difficult to watch for some, or maybe it is too 'different' to its predecessor and it causes too much dismay. However, for me, it was completely unique, and executed with perfection, and could not have been a better fit to a fiction ending to a non fiction story! In my opinion, 'The French Connection' and 'French Connection II' together, as one, make for one of the most memorable Hollywoodised detective films of all time. No matter how much time passes or how old it gets, they will always be remembered as classics, each for their own reasons, for me.

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.

"French Connection 2" pales in comparison to "The French Connection". This movie comes across as a director's vanity piece. The story is weak, so Frankenheimer finds it necessary to stretch almost every scene. The first part is nothing more than trite examples of Hackman's challenge with the French language. The second part where he is forcibly hooked on heroin and then detoxes is way too long and boring. I mean an exchange about baseball players goes on and on forever. Even the finale, with the endless chase is anti-climatic, as two shots end this ten minutes of buildup and the credits roll. I say skip this director's self indulgence. - MERK

OK, Popeye's here! Doyle and his inseparable hat are back once again on the run to get Charnier (Fernando Rey), known as Frog One, the smart criminal who ran away from him in the film directed in 1971.This time the hunt will take place in Marseille instead of New York and he's no longer with his cool partner Russo but instead of all that he's stuck with the bureaucracy of the French police, following lots of procedures that won't allow his tough reprehension of bad guys, beatings and the famous 'Have you ever picked your feet on Poughkeepsie!'.Gene Hackman brings back the character in all of his glory, his mannerisms, his unusual humor and some innovations brought by the screenplay, things that might upset viewers from the classical first episode. Doyle's instincts are a little bit right yet he always manages to do something wrong. Here, they're always wrong when they do exist, and after some innocent strolling through Marseille, Popeye is abducted by Charnier and he's "transformed" into a drug addict, something that obviously it'll ruin his reputation as a cop and even better to Frog One, it'll distract the obstinate detective in following him. So, this is how complicated Popeye's mission is."French Connection II" is a little disappointment if compared to the Oscar winning film directed by William Friedkin. That was the movie that practically created action films in the way we know now, to me, action films started there. Let alone, this sequel directed by John Frankenheimer is a decent film that has its moments and has its good presences. Very slow, barely thrilling and without the documentary style outstandingly developed by Friedkin, the sequel has two huge problems that must be taken in consideration: 1) a plot like the one presented here would fit better in action films made now. The director would edit things nicely instead of putting so much effort and so much time with an addicted cop, slowly rotting with the abstinence period. The always excellent Hackman was incredible in those long moments, suffering hell on Earth without drugs. 2) What upsets me the most is the fact of this being an unnecessary following to "The French Connection" and I tell you why. The first film was based on a actual case that happened in 1961, but the movie changed some facts (the amazing car chase scene never happened). The director states in the audio commentary that Charnier escaped and never got caught, and died very recently. So, this sequel is completely pointless since is a complete work of fiction, only made to return money to the studio. It works to show how different is the police work in two different countries, the whole procedures and schemes told by the police captain (played by Bernard Fresson, very good) who really doesn't get along with Doyle from time to time. The few action moments were good, the ending being the greatest moment of all. It's not the kind of film for those who don't enjoy dialogs and plenty of dramatic moments, and this film has them in abundance. I like it but I'll always miss Owen Roizman's elaborated cinematography; Friedkin's direction; Roy Scheider's presence; Ricky Bravo camera movements and the minimalist musical score, all in the first film. Another comparison I make is that there's something in France that is visually interesting to see in films specially if they're directed by Frankenheimer, who returned there to make the exciting "Ronin" (that is a perfect action film also filled with good dialogs!). It's a reasonable good sequel and it can reach higher notes if you've never seen the first chapter. 8/10