French Connection II [HD]

Awesome on Blu-ray! Underappreciated sequel but wonderful performance by Gene Hackman and quite enjoyable!
Entertaining, gritty and taking the character of "Popeye" Doyle to new lows. Excellent performance by Gene Hackman, it may not have the shocking action and the famous chase scene but on its own, "FRENCH CONNECTION II" is a good film and very entertaining.

Four years since the original "THE FRENCH CONNECTION", in 1975, the sequel would be released. Where the first film was based on real events on the lives of Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, the sequel is more fictional.

This time around, Doyle goes to France to go after Charnier. Being in a new country, Doyle is a fish out of water and knows that what he was used to New York, it's not going to fly in France, especially with the gendarmes.

But unbeknownst to him, after he's spotted by Charnier, Doyle is kidnapped and the hard-nosed cop that we saw in the first film will be fighting for his life and be broken down severely.

A riveting film, it may not be at the same caliber as the first but...

The Best That Could Be Matched With the Original
Considering the enigmatic ending of the Oscar-winning "The French Connection," a sequel seemed obligatory. But four years later, it's likely that no one was expecting the harrowing twist that came with the follow-up's plot.
This time directed by John Frankenheimer, gruff, foul-mouthed, brute narcotics officer Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) travels to Marseilles, determined to stop the elusive drug kingpin Alain "Frog One" Charnier (Fernando Rey), whom he failed to stop in New York City. Once in France, Popeye is met by Inspector Henri Barthelemi (Bernard Fresson), who resents the former's rude and crude crimefighting demeanor. Doyle finds himself as a fish out of water in France, where he is matched with a language he can't understand, eliminating one of his most useful weapons--his mouth. Determined to find Frog One on his own (and unaware he is being used by Barthelemi to lure Charnier into the open), Popeye escapes his French escorts. Now here comes the unexpected; in an...

The definitive movie sequel.
That the sequel was made at all was no certainty although the original left an obvious opportunity to chart the conclusion to Doyles mission in bringing Frog One (Fernando Rey) to justice.

Hackman gives an even better acting performance in this effort if that were possible but lost out in the Oscar accolades probably due to his earlier success. This time he is on his own with no Cloudy to back him up and stuck with the sometimes dubious support of the French Police.The french acting in this movie is par excellance and perfectly cast which is saying something since this was essentially an American production. We see Fernando Rey carry on his good work from the original movie this time in a more familiar setting namely his home town Marseille. The casting of Rey in both part 1 and part 2 is almost as inspired as that of Hackman himself and also worthy of acting plaudits which sadly did not materialise.Connection part 2 is a worthy sequel to the earlier offering and although...

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