French Connection II

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.

It is no surprise that a sequel to the masterpiece "The French Connection" was commissioned. After all, the 1971 film helped to define a much more realistic kind of Hollywood movie and is in a league of its own. Gene Hackman brought so much depth to the tough cop, Popeye Doyle. In the hands of a lesser actor, the character would have become one-dimensional. Released in 1975, "French Connection 2," is actually very good on its own terms. Naturally, Gene Hackman was brought back and so was Fernando Rey as the drug dealer who eluded capture in the previous film. Aside from actor Ed Lauter, every cast member in this sequel is French apart from Hackman. It made sense to have this 1975 film, seeing as there were a few loose ends from before. Being set and filmed in Marseilles, we see a more vulnerable side to Popeye Doyle. He doesn't know any area of France, he has never been to that particular country before, so his being on alien territory makes him a target in more ways than one. There are some good action scenes which keep the viewer interested but the film suffers from overlength. If the running time had been trimmed by about 15 minutes, then the narrative would have been stronger. This is no fault of the director, John Frankenheimer. He certainly deserves more recognition as he made some very good films. The drug addiction reference makes for rather uncomfortable viewing as we see first hand, Doyle's graphic and disturbing withdrawal symptoms. I can understand why this was included in "French Connection 2," as Fernando Rey is determined to rid himself of this cop who has been a thorn in his side from day 1. He will employ any means necessary to rid himself of his adversary. However, the drug addiction took up too much screen time. Regardless, it is testament to how tough Doyle is as his fighting spirit is still there. Surviving his ordeal, only makes him that more determined to catch his man. The French police with whom Doyle works, view him with a certain degree of suspicion and concern. After all, Doyle's reputation precedes him....... There isn't so much of the humour or camaraderie that is so evident in the previous film but one scene that is quite droll is as follows: when Gene Hackman goes to a bar and he can't make himself understood very well as his French is limited and the barmans English is even worse! Then after a few drinks together, they merrily walk the streets of Marseilles after the bar is closed. That was a good scene. This isn't a classic but worth viewing all the same. There were plans by "20th Century Fox" to produce a third "French Connection" film with Gene Hackman being paired with Richard Pryor as his new partner. It was scheduled for production about 1979. That sounds interesting, a shame it didn't happen.

It's not very often that a sequel snags a filmmaker even more accomplished than the original director, but John Frankenheimer's gritty touch was just what 'French Connection II (1975)' needed. William Friedkin's 'The French Connection (1971)' was itself gritty, tense and exciting, spinning a true-life police procedural into a harrowing exploration of obsession and corruption. Frankenheimer, in the same vein as 'The Manchurian Candidate (1962),' occasionally infuses his film's stark realism with surreal, hallucinatory elements, perfect for depicting the heroin-fuelled stupor that "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) is ruthlessly forced to endure. The sequel offers a fictional extension of the original film's true events, and sees Detective Doyle following the trail of drug-lord Charnier (Fernando Rey) onto the unfamiliar and unsympathetic streets of Marseilles, France. With the reluctant assistance of local cop Barthélémy (Bernard Fresson), Doyle uncertainly strolls the dirty streets, out of his element in this foreign metropolis, and perpetually hampered by cultural and language differences.

Gene Hackman won an Oscar for his first turn as "Popeye" Doyle, and here he probably deserved another one. His efforts continually frustrated by international bureaucracy and local hostility, Detective Doyle broils with aggression and resentment, a distinctly unlikable but engrossing personality. In one particularly excruciating sequence, as Doyle attempts to kick a heroin addiction cold-turkey, Hackman's performance is a masterclass – pitiful, riveting and painful. 'French Connection II' concludes with an exciting police raid and foot-chase, shot in a realistic style that no doubt influenced successors like Ridley Scott. Doyle's final pursuit of Charnier across the busy streets of Marseilles is enthralling, not least because Hackman himself appears to give it his all, having reportedly neglected to alert Frankenheimer of a chronic knee ailment. In a medium where heroes apparently possess boundless energy, I can't recall a more exhausted and beaten-looking chase participant since Kurosawa's 'Stray Dog (1949).'

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!

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.