French Connection II (1975)'s comments

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senorroboto

Balls to the wall nuts. It's not as good as the original, but it's good and it's not trying to retain anything from the original but some characters and an acute sense of existential dread.

9 years 2 months ago

Earring72

Underrated sequel. Is different than the Original but packed with emotions and is hard hitting.

3 years 9 months ago

Mackmannen

An entire take on the original, still it's good. It's Hackman and he is the freaking bossman!
Good i love the franska kopplingen. XD.

11 years 10 months ago

One of the first sequels on the big screen. At least one of those with a "2" or a "II" behind the title. The first moive had of course been a hit, both at the box office and at the Oscars. It took home a whooping five Academy Awards! Including best picture and best actor for Gene Hackman!

Yes, Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle, a great actor and a great character, perhaps even more so in this sequel, despite the lack of prize thropies. Gene Hackman is certainly the greatest thing about this moive, but his french counterpart, Bernard Fresson, delivers an equally gritty and fascinating performance as the French police officer tasked with keeping an eye on Popeye.

Two stunning performances to be sure, but the movie's principal strength is probably its grit and its down-and-dirty, seedy take on the crime genre as well as its fish-out-of-water theme. All set in a very "exotic" European France from the equally "exotic" mid-sIeventies. Dynamically shot and with no unecceassry hand-holding. The viewers have to piece everything together themselves as the plot moves along - something sadly lacking in today's dumbed-down cinema.

All in all, there are many things in this picture totally alien to modern cinema. The feel of dirt and grit, the lone wolf asshole cop hero, the lack of political messaging and not least - the strong sense of something real going on. So much so that it is easy to get lost in the world of this picture.

On the downside - perhaps it gets too dark, too depressing and its main character too much of an asshole. Usually I hate characters like this, but for some reason, perhaps because he goes through so much hell or perhaps because he is so determined, I still rooted for Popeye until the very end. And the ending was just as satisfying as it had to be.

A very good sequel, but a little uneven and with characters that are borderline unlikeable. Still, a pretty good time.

1 year 7 months ago