French Connection II (1975)

Popeye Doyle is now in France to find the drug dealer. The film continues the story, this time John Frankenheimer takes the directing reins.

The film's style is not that different from the first film, it feels part of the series, not detached at all.

Gene Hackman actually gets better, he really gets more out of his acting in this one. The film is very much character driven, very little action. The Cold Turkey sequence is mindblowing. Doyle is shown as a flawed character as is Alain Charnier, this adds to the realism.

The direction is excellent, I'm glad the style didn't change too much.

The photography is less gloomy but the locations are similar to the first film.

Fmovies: In this riveting, darkly dramatic sequel, Popeye Doyle (Hackman in one of his most overlooked performances) travels to Marseilles to track the elusive Alain "Frog One" Charnier (Fernando Rey), whom he failed to catch in New York City. Doyle is met with a French detective (Bernard Fresson) who resents his rough approach to case-solving, and a language he can't understand to save his life. In an ugly twist, the rogue detective is kidnapped by Frog One's men and forced to take heroin in a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to find out all he knows about the French Connection case. Successfully humiliated by Charnier, Doyle is put in isolation by the French police and goes through a brutal process of cold-turkey withdrawals from heroin. By now, Popeye is determined to kill the goons who forced him to become an addict. A fresh plot and gritty, realistic direction by John Frankenheimer make "French Connection II" worthy enough to be compared in merit to the original, despite the absence of Roy Scheider as Hackman's partner. Dark and dramatic, further allows depth and insight to Hackman's Popeye Doyle.

The sequel to the massive hit "French Connection" pales a bit in comparison to the original,but it also adds more depth to the story and Popeye Doyle as a character.Gene Hackman almost outdoes his Oscar-winning performance here as Popeye Doyle running loose in Marseille.The film is a bit uneven and exhausting,but the ultimate showdown is well crafted.The scenes when Doyle is on detox after getting injected with heroin add to the overall dramatic depth of the film,making the original look more action-oriented and systematic.

Ergo does this movie come out as a sort of theatric depiction of Popeye Doyle and his pursuit for Charnier.The problem with this film is that its too long,but I guess that couldn't have been avoided when you are Frankenheimer.Hackman keeps his humour and treats us with a few classical Popeye lines,my favorite being:"You put me next to the shithouse!".8 out of 10.

French Connection II fmovies. The masterpiece that "The French Connection" was and still is, never needed a sequel. "The French Connection" and its mysterious ending were fine as it was. "French Connection II" focuses on 'Popeye' Doyle who takes revenge on the drug smuggler Alain Charnier, not in New York this time but Marseille, France. It's unnecessary all but still this movie is a very good one!

Although the visual style is pretty much similar as in "The French Connection" the movie here relies more on a faster pace and also has just a bit more action, thanks to action specialist director John Frankenheimer. The atmosphere however is not as good, simply because Marseille, although it has its charm, simply ain't no New York.

I also really missed 'Cloudy' Russo in this movie. Sure, 'Popeye' Doyle's character is strong enough to carry the entire movie but he just ain't the same without 'Cloudy' by his side.

There are more than enough good moments that make up for these losses, the ending for example is really brilliant and I absolutely loved it!

Once you've seen "The French Connection" this isn't really a must see but nevertheless, it's a very good movie and perfectly watchable.

8/10

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I actually saw this one before seeing the first. Now that I've seen both several times, I must admit that rarely have I seen a better follow up. Gene Hackman is brilliant in this cat and mouse chase in the french town of Marseilles. Especially his acting in the cold turkey scenes are just amazing. It's a sad fact that they don't do these types of movies anymore. Today it's all about overloading your senses, thinking that more is always better. This is a masterpiece in sparingly used soundeffects, music and cinematography. If you've seen the first one, make sure to see this one. At all cost.

The French Connection and its sequel are the Grandfather to such classics as To Live and Die in L.A., Copland, and Narc, and the anti-thesis of all of those 80's flops either far too "Hollywood" or far too "by the book". Hackman is still the "knock down, drag out", shoot first ask later 2-fisted narc that doesn't know what Miranda means that he was in part I, but with a change of scenery that takes him across the pond. The terrain has changed, but the raw unadulterated character acting of Hackman still makes it one hell of a roller coaster ride.

Rife with dirty cops, drug smugglers, and French thugs, this movies direction and writing reminds instantly that it is part of the production catalyst that would later see series like The Shield have such success in prime time TV. The 70's rarely pulled punches when it came to top billed cop movies, starting with Dirty Harry, the original French Connection and then snowballing into classics like Serpico. The French Connection II is no exception. This movie won't disappoint any fan of either the original, or anyone that wanted to see for themselves Gene Hackman carrying a lead action role almost through the screen.