French Connection II (1975)

Must See Movie...

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

"Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) is sent to Marseilles to track down French drug-lord and smuggler Alain Charnier (Fernando Ray), in cooperation with the city narc squad, but he finds himself instead seemingly betrayed by the very law enforcement he represents! Sent out into the French public without understanding their language, and his unfamiliar lack of knowledge with his surroundings, it is easy to see Doyle was set up to fail or much worse die.I think the film benefits exponentially from Hackman's performance. This man lays everything he has out there for the character, including a harrowing, gut-wrenchingly unpleasant heroin-induced addiction by Ray and his cohorts and recovery once he is returned to the Marseilles police more than a little worse for wear. To say this is hard to watch is an understatement. One brave and emotionally vulnerable scene has Doyle combating withdrawal as Marseilles narc detective, Barthélémy (Bernard Fresson) feeds him cognac while he talks about Yankee baseball during fits of heroin yearning.Seeing Popeye not in his own turf is jarring, and he's vulnerable against the language barrier. Just trying to get scotch in a café is a chore, and if he wants to engage in flirtatious conversation with women it proves unsuccessful, not to mention, awkward. Like a volleyball babe who just shrugs him off primarily because she doesn't understand what he says. He is a bone of contention for the Marseilles police who feel obligated to babysit him while trying to keep him from roughhousing and aggressively pursuing suspects. When he is easily captured by Charnier, Doyle is reduced to an addict in the hopes of giving up what he knows about the drug operations. Not killing Doyle will prove to be his undoing.The chase at the end is obviously a standout, considering how physical and demanding it is for Hackman who must pursue a trollying Charnier on foot through streets and sidewalks, as well as, traffic (both vehicular and human). The raid of the ship that would be carrying Charnier's heroin, which almost leads to Doyle and Barthélémy being drowned by a purposed flood meant to kill them, is a throwback to the first film in that the main bad guy is almost caught but manages to slip away. The closing in on Charnier's secret meeting with a ship owner (carrying his drugs, of course!) as the Marseilles cops follow his minions throughout the city is another key sequence. Frankenheimer proves himself quite impressively with moving action as these two scenes attest. The in-your-face characterizations and willingness to go into the ugly could be a detriment for some who would have a hard time sitting through all of that. Still, I think it isn't afraid of the intimidating task of following such a revered and adulated 70s classic, and that could be applauded if the sequel has the guts to go its own way…Hackman certainly brings the acting chops required for the role made famous previously.

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.

The movie starts out fairly entertaining with Hackman playing a crude intelligent tactless Eastwood like New York cop encountering funny language barrier situations. All these movies from the era have a "James Bond flair" of an exaggerated macho super male protagonist.So much of it seemed to be filmed on a set (all the indoor scenes) kinds of cheapens and wrecks the fun of time travel--but there were a decent amount of outdoor live scenes still..Where I started to get bored was when Hackman goes cold turkey after being forced to take heroin for 2 weeks so the baddie Rey can get information from him. I actually started to fast forward through that endless part.The whole attitude towards drugs is a bit corny and laughable--but this was made in 1976 so you have to put up with that.I never fully understood the plot a far more serious flaw....at one point it is revealed the Hackman was sent there as bait--bait for whose benefit the French? They don't seem to want him there. Anyway that is confusing.As others state the action scenes go on too long....the dry dock...the chases....with sound effects added afterwards. Also I found the idea that after Rey knows everything is being watched he goes ahead and pays off the captain of the ship---having no clue it might be watched---that is just plain stupid writing.I agree Rey doesn't make a good bad guy....needs to instill fear--not.This movie cost $4.3 million and grossed $12.6 million so what do I know? Semi Recommend

Unnecessary you could say. However film-maker John Frankenheimer's follow-up to William Friedkin's 70s classic "The French Connection" is a gripping, gritty and powerful crime thriller that fittingly complements its predecessor thanks largely to Gene Hackman and Fernando Ray reprising their larger-than-life roles. Where as the action took place in New York for the original, in the sequel it finds the hard-nosed New York detective Popeye Doyle in Marseilles on the trail of heroin French kingpin Alain Charnier who got away from Doyle's original New York bust. What occur are basic fish-out- water scenarios (lost in translation) during the opening stages for the foul-mouthed Doyle and he's even getting on the nerves of the local authorities he's working with (led by a prefect Bernard Fresson). But the story does go down a dark path when Doyle is kidnapped and forced into taking heroine in an attempt to find out what he knows. He becomes a junkie, where the local police find him and isolate him so he can go through cold-turkey withdrawals. Breaking the habit and learning the real truth why he was sent to Marseillies makes it real personal for Doyle, to the point of going beyond the law for payback. Here it becomes merciless and ugly. Watching the scenes involving the withdrawal is punishing even if it goes on for a little too long. What does it wonders is the barnstorming performance of Hackman, adding more personality and complexity to a signature grizzled character. Because he goes through a whole lot more. The story could have just repeated what had gone before it, but instead it's completely novel in its depiction of man's dangerous addiction to getting his man. The script is taut, but can be crude and enduring. Director Frankenheimer's intimate styling gets up and personal giving it a realistic edge and plenty of local colour with a real sense of detail for the seedy side of things. The camera-work has a kinetic-like touch, capturing the exhausting action with creative POV shots. When it came to the action and surveillance set-pieces, they're pulsating and biting (namely the foot-chases) in its suspense with moments of red paint being splashed about. Some scenes probably could be tighter, but it never loses interest or impact."French Connection II" is straight-up a raw, hard-hitting sequel with an appropriate sudden ending."Look at my hat"!