French Connection II

This was never going to be as good as the first film, but as sequels go - especially in the 1970s - this isn't half bad. Gene Hackman's "Popeye Doyle" is doped up full of heroin, and abandoned to the streets. Luckily he is discovered and after some cold turkey, sets about getting back onto the trail of "Charnier" (Fernando Rey) in Marseille. It is here he must work with the French authorities - as suspicious of him, as he is of them - to effect a catch! Marseille is always a great venue for films like this - it has an earthily cosmopolitan seediness that really lends well to this kind of drama. Certainly, this plot lacks the intensity of the 1971 original, and "Doyle" frequently comes across here as a bit of an arrogant American ass, but the pace is still pretty good, and there is plenty of action to keep it lively for a couple of hours with car chases and shoot-outs a-plenty.