"French Connection 2" pales in comparison to "The French Connection". This movie comes across as a director's vanity piece. The story is weak, so Frankenheimer finds it necessary to stretch almost every scene. The first part is nothing more than trite examples of Hackman's challenge with the French language. The second part where he is forcibly hooked on heroin and then detoxes is way too long and boring. I mean an exchange about baseball players goes on and on forever. Even the finale, with the endless chase is anti-climatic, as two shots end this ten minutes of buildup and the credits roll. I say skip this director's self indulgence. - MERK

Only 2 sequels were any good in the 70's. The Godfather and The French Connection. French Connection 2 may have bombed at the box office but it's an absolute gem. Hackman is awesome. The scene where he burns down the drug house where he was held captive and turned into an addict is as satisfying as any cinematic experience I've ever had. The ending is perfect, too. As great as the first French Connection was - this one holds up better over time. Although the first one had Roy Scheider - another great actor who was the original pick to star in Apocalypse Now but had agreed to act in Jaws 2 - a stinker. Also checkout Scarecrow with Al Pacino and Hackman. Another one that few people saw but it's powerful as hell. That may have been Hackman's best performance ever - and Pacino was great, too.

As much as I enjoy THE FRENCH CONNECTION, I have to say that this sequel has the edge to it. Gone is the camaraderie between Hackman and Scheider to be replaced by a more character-driven movie that focuses on Hackman himself. For me, this is the movie that contains Hackman's best performance; his acting in the "cold turkey" scenes is simply fantastic creating some truly harrowing cinematic moments.Elsewhere, the fish-out-of-water storyline fits the thriller format well and brings plenty of awkward humour with it. John Frankenheimer is one of the most underrated thriller directors out there, I think, and he has a knack of shooting great-looking thrillers in France (check out RONIN for more evidence of this).In essence, the film is split into three separate sections. The first third is the semi-comic "stranger in a strange land" narrative; the second replaces this with an extraordinarily dark look at the world of drug addiction (the only darker film I can think of is REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) while the last third returns to the chase-oriented cop thriller of the original. And the action, when it comes, is exemplary, finishing with that master final shot. It truly is a great and underrated film.

The French Connection is a superb cop flick, that manages to be both sharp and gritty. French Connection II is not only a worthy sequel, it is a fine if slightly inferior one too. While it does have an initially slow set up, when the film gets going it is every bit as exciting as the original. The film does look great with a visual style that is a little grittier but in keeping with its predecessor. Don Ellis's music adds to the atmosphere and style, the story is enough to draw you enough with an interesting plot point with Doyle and a disturbing sequence involving his withdrawal after being forcibly addicted and there is a cracking script and great direction. Gene Hackman is also brilliant with his acting in the cold turkey scenes among the best he has ever done, and while the ending is abrupt in a way due to its sharpness and thoughtfulness this abruptness works. Overall, a fine sequel and perfect to go with a superb first film. 8/10 Bethany Cox