French Connection II

I am Robin Moore, the author of The French Connection. I was paid the film rights for The French Connection, was on the set during the filming and at the Oscars when the award was presented.

When I was writing the French Connection Sonny Grosso and Eddie Eagan came down to Jamaica to my Blue Lagoon. While they were there Barry Sadler and his wife, Lavonia, joined us. Barry and I had written The Ballad of The Green Berets a few years previously.

I enjoyed The French Connection II, however, I spent a lot of time trying to get paid, but never succeeded. Sad. After the French Connection II came out a lawyer in NY got me to sign the rights to The French Connection over to his law firm so I wouldn't be able to get any money from anything that came after The French Connection. We writers are always getting burnt by the film industry!

I last saw Sonny Grosso in NY a couple of years ago. I took the two emergency cops (the ones who raised the flag at The World Trade Centre) to meet Sonny and they gave him a copy of their DVD.

ROBIN MOORE...

Robin Moore...

Shipping Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle across the Atlantic to France, where he meets up with political exile director John Frankenheimer, does give this freestanding sequel to The French Connection a certain autonomy, even if the filmmakers ultimately end up sacrificing suspense and urgency along the way. The plot again revolves around heroin-smuggling led by drug kingpin Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), but this picture only really comes alive and starts feeling authentic once it delves into Doyle's budding heroin addiction following a kidnapping. The film's best scene has Gene Hackman firing on all cylinders - drunk and in heroin-withdrawal, he alternately lashes out on and leans on his French colleague Henri Barthélémy (Bernard Fresson), and there's a riveting authenticity to Hackman's work in this and contiguous segments. And it certainly makes "Popeye" and also the film's rather predictable finale more relevant in the process.

Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) travels to Marseilles to find Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), the drug smuggler who eluded him in New York.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two and a half out of four stars and said that "if Frankenheimer and his screenplay don't do justice to the character (of Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle), they at least do justice to the genre, and this is better than most of the many cop movies that followed." Is this the classic the original was? Of course not. But you have to give them credit for trying, and not just passing it off as a weak sequel. They kept Hackman, they brought in a big director like Frankenheimer. This was not something just to make a few bucks. And while it may not be the same level of "classic", it still has what most viewers want: some action, some chase scenes... and a devious subplot of a drug cop getting hooked on heroin!

Review: French Connection II

If ever there was a character who embodied the mantra of "too much is never enough," it's Gene Hackman's Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in French Connection II. Hackman reprises his role with an intensity that could best be described as equal parts compelling and concerning. His relentless, almost cartoonishly excessive approach to policing makes Dirty Harry look like a yoga instructor. Popeye's antics aren't just rough-and-tumble - they're bulldozer-in-a-china-shop rough. And while this gung-ho style may have paved the way for generations of gritty cop characters, it's hard not to think that Popeye could benefit from either a few anger management sessions or a permanent holiday in a padded cell. His methods make policing in a banana republic look measured by comparison.

The film itself is a curious beast. Unlike the taut, Oscar-winning original, the sequel takes a fragmented approach, peppering the narrative with moments that feel as disconnected as Doyle himself after a few too many drinks. The cold turkey subplot, while ambitious, overstays its welcome - much like a guest who insists on recounting their detox journey in excruciating detail. Yes, it's gripping at times, but also drawn out to the point of exhaustion.

Yet, despite its flaws, there's a certain charm to French Connection II. It reflects the 1970s in all its unfiltered glory: raw, experimental, and unafraid to show its dark underbelly. And let's not forget, this was a sequel - a concept still relatively novel at the time. Its boldness deserves applause, even if its execution occasionally falters.

Ultimately, French Connection II is a reflective, uneven ride through the mind of a cop who might just be too unhinged for his own good. Entertaining? Absolutely. Timeless? Not quite. But it's an enjoyable throwback to a time when sequels were rare, and heroes like Doyle were as flawed as the stories they inhabited.

On February 18th of 2025, the mighty actor Gene Hackman passed away. I have a tradition to pay tribute to a deceased cinema deity by watching/reviewing one or two of their lesser known (but hopefully worthwhile) movies. For Gene Hackman, however, I want to expand the tribute. He was such an indescribably brilliant and versatile actor. Since he's listed in my top 5 of greatest performers of ALL times, he deserves a full month of homage. Rest in peace, Mr. Hackman, and thanks for the many great movies.

It's not on purpose that I go against the stream, but I genuinely think "The French Connection II" is better than the exaggeratedly acclaimed original, and quite possibly Gene Hackman's most underrated effort. The unique strength of the plot is that it plucks Popeye Doyle out of his natural New York habitat and helplessly dumps him - literally - in the streets of Marseille, France. Doyle is still his arrogant, unorthodox, and brutally direct self, but he cannot communicate with anyone, his French counterparts are unimpressed by his methods, and his nemesis - Alain Charnier - has the advantage of knowing every dark alley and abandoned drug hole.

Strong and solid acting shoulders are required to carry a lead role like this, but Hackman succeeds effortlessly! Another Oscar would have been well-deserved, as it's the same character but a totally different range of skills and emotions. Notably the scenes where Doyle suffers the terrors of going cold turkey, after being kidnapped and shot full of heroin for weeks by Charnier's henchmen, result in a handful of powerhouse outings. There's less violent action in the sequel, but the atmosphere is even more raw and anti-mainstream than in Friedkin's original. Deep respect also for director John Frankenheimer and writer Robert Dillon. This movie does not deserve to be so unloved.