The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1974)

good back-story, and good acting

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Whatever the success of its predecessor, 'Le retour du grand blond' (= French for 'the return of the tall blond man') can safely be labeled as a miscarriage.Its plot, providing an almost endless sequence of just-not slap sticks, nowhere & never carries you away. Even its distant link to James Bond hardly makes sense.The only memorable scene is provided by male lead Pierre Richard, getting stuck with his finger in a street grill.However, a positive exception is made by its shooting, which is fully up to 1974-standards. But sadly that's all there is. Not even Mireille Darc is able to lift 'Le retour du grand blond' from its misery.

The charms of the last movie were lost here. The movie turned a little too absurd for me. It seemed as if a lot of things were forced and they were not able to get me to care for the characters like I did in the last movie. It was funny, but what made the last movie enjoyable just was not there. By making everything a little more ridiculous took away the real nature of the characters. I do not think they needed to make this movie. It was enjoyable as I watched it, but I could have spent the time watching a different movie. I kind of liked the ending, but it was a little predictable. Overall not a great sequel and this is why they should not always make remakes.

Between them the other two posters seem to have got it just about right. In other words this IS a sequel that works as well as if not better than the original. Those who missed the original are quickly brought up to speed with a particularly brilliant precis which concludes with a natural link that enables us to zoom straight into THIS film, picking up 'Blondie' and Christine in Brazil even as back in Paris a colleague of the late Milan is preparing the ground to discredit Toulouse (Jean Rochefort) again utilising Perrin as an unwitting pawn. The stage is now set for more assassination attempts that go comedically wrong and allow the excellent cast to turn in standout performances - Mirielle Darc gets a 'with the participation of' credit and is off-screen for the bulk of the action suggesting problems behind-the-scenes - as they did the first time around. The two films are now available as a DVD package and are highly recommended.

I can agree with the other review only that this is a hilarious. I do not at all share the view that this excellent remake pales the original. No way. Now, let me say this: I generally detest remakes and sequels. They are generally only bland rehashes of the original and add nothing new. There are exceptions: The Godfather, Part II comes to mind, largely because of the introduction of Robert De Niro and making it a prequel. But, this film is great. The story line shifts as the bumbling Richard engages in some clever antics, again fraught with the comedy of errors approach and perfectly timed slapstick. The script is great and departs from the original, giving it a fresh, exciting approach. I don't think it is as hilarious as the original but the beauty of that is, this film is different enough to make it thoroughly enjoyable. Une fois plus, s.v.p.!