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Movie:		8.0
Picture:		6.0
Sound:		6.0
Extras:		3.0
Score:		6.0

Director(s):	John Frankenheimer
Writer(s):	Alexander Jacobs and Robert Dillon & Laurie Dillon
Starring:	Fernando Rey • Gene Hackman
Genre:	Action • Thriller
Release Date:	February 24, 2009
Rated:

List Price:	Blu-ray - $34.98
Amazon:

It’s hard to follow a movie as acclaimed as The French Connection. If you stick too closely to the first film, you’d only be walking in its shadow. If you try to do something new, you’re not living up to the name. Because of this, The French Connection II is one of the most underrated films of the 1970’s, often dismissed simply because it’s not The French Connection.

The sequel sees our hero Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman) arriving in Marseilles, France, to capture the fugitive villain Charnier (Fernando Rey). With an all-French cast, Hackman and Rey are the only two actors returning. John Frankenheimer replaced William Friedkin as director and to his credit, he devised a sequel that is as brilliant of a film as the first, but rocks to a completely different tune. Instead of a hard-nosed investigation where the thrill is in seeing Popeye Doyle trying to find the moment he can nail the crooks, Frankenheimer presents a fish-out-of-water story that takes the expression to its fullest meaning.

We see Popeye rendered useless when taken out of his New York streets, where he has a hard time ordering a drink, let alone snoop around. A fish without water isn't a confused fish, it's a dead fish. Popeye can’t pick up women, he has no informants, his interrogation tactics fall apart when translated… Frankenheimer took a character known for his effectiveness and finds a way to render him ineffective. It’s Popeye’s unfamiliarity with his new surroundings that lead to his near-death when Charnair’s goons kidnaps him and forces him into a heroin addiction.

It’s here that French Connection II differs greatly from the first. Rather than have a middle section moved by Popeye’s determination and confidence, the sequel, now on the bad guy’s turf, has a second act where Popeye is wrestling with withdrawal. French Connection is Popeye Doyle’s physical battle with drugs, while here it’s an internal one. Hackman’s performance as a junkie is incredible, far surpassing his work in the first movie. Even when he’s weeping and begging, we still recognize him as the tough Popeye Doyle, broken down by an addiction.

Of course, the awesome thing about this is that when he’s finally kicked the monkey off his back, he comes back angrier than ever. Popeye’s first order of business once he regained himself? Burn down a whole building. Now that’s Noo Yawk.

Bonus Features

The features on this release is nowhere near as good as the one on the original film's. It’s a single-disc release, first of all, so it’s skimpier. The director’s and cast commentaries are taken from an old release (obviously, since Frankenheimer passed away in 2002). The only new features on Blu-ray are “Frankenheimer in Focus,” a tribute featurette to the late director’s career, and “A Conversation with Gene Hackman,” a video interview that is obviously pulled from the same interview as the one in the first movie’s release.

It has an “Isolated Score” audio track, just like in the first movie’s release, but since the music here isn’t put to use as well as in the first movie, it’s hardly worth a look. For the people who own a D-Box motion chair—both of you—this release has that feature, but even without trying it it seems useless. Does it shake your chair to the motion of Gene Hackman’s withdrawal?

Even the picture and sound are not as impressive as the first movie’s BR release.

Verdict

While not as exciting as its predecessor, The French Connection II a great film nonetheless. Maybe not worth getting on Blu-ray—it is kind of ridiculous that they're charging the same price for this as the 2-disc original—but definitely a film worth watching.