This man is certainly not a ‘Hack’
‘Popeye’ Doyle returns for a second shot at bringing down the french connection (a drug ring that starts in France and works its way to the streets of New York). This time, Doyle is traveling to the source of the problem, and with the help of the French police, he’s out to track down Alain Charnier and finally put an end to his operation. Once out of New York City, though, things don’t get easier and he soon finds out that he’s quite the fish out of water.
I wanted to like this sequel. It fit perfectly with the original and seemed like a seamless take on what could be considered the conclusion to a long story. Regretfully, this story wasn’t as solid, the acting didn’t seem to be all that seasoned (outside of Hackman) and it seemed to drag just enough to warrant some boredom. Again, it wasn’t like the original, it just seemed a bit forced. There was plenty of potential as the ending of the first connected so well with the beginning of the second.
My main problem is the motivation of Doyle wanting to track down Charnier. It is already understood that the case isn’t closed because Charnier hasn’t been caught. When Doyle gets caught and is drugged up by Charnier, this is a second motivation that seems odd. It’s one thing to already be pysched to take this guy down, but do you really need another reason? It seems like a wasted and useless moment that brings a false sense of passion/revenge to Doyle’s character. It seemed very much out of place.
I think I would have had a bit more umph to the arrival of Hackman’s character, Doyle. He is an impact player who exposed a drug ring in the first movie. He should have added to that umph in the second movie, but it seemed a bit flat. Not so much his acting, but the character progression just didn’t seem very improved. You would think that a cop, who just opened up a huge drug trafficking ring would step up his passion and bring a bit more power to the table. Again, what came out was a bit flat and sometimes a stretch to believe.
Overall, I think the movie is very average because of all these flaws. This first knew what it was, it knew what type of person Doyle was. This time around it seemed like it wanted to recreate the moment and turn Doyle into something he clearly wasn’t. This needed that same attitude the first French Connection established, especially when Hackman waves hello/goodbye to the french connection players at the end of the first film. It just didn’t bring it this time around. Again, it seemed very much forced and sometimes out of place.
Feeling Blu for Doyle
Story aside, I think this movie looked a bit more refined than the first. I’m not sure what the film quality difference was, but it certainly brought a sharper, clearer picture. It also established, like the first, some fantastic audio, so no complaints there. It’s everything a Blu-ray should be, fine film to HD transfer and some kickass audio to boot that has been remastered to its finest.
As for features, here’s what you’re getting:
– A Conversation with Gene Hackman
– Commentary by Gene Hackman and Robert Rosen
– Commentary by John Frankenheimer
– Still Galleries
– Isolated Score Track
– Frankenheimer: In Focus
The amount of features can’t really compare to the original film, but these are good nonetheless. You get some fantastic commentary by the director, actor and producer. You get a good segment with Gene Hackman (always fun to listen to, just like in the first film) and you get some other good features which do include a nice set of stills to look at.