Take everything good out of The French Connection, put Gene Hackman back in, and you've got the sequel, an arduous slog through banality that never really picks up any momentum until the last few minutes, and even then, miscalculated sound editing proves a minor distraction. The worst part should have been the best: a middle stretch shows Hackman's character in the throes of a heroin addiction. It's strenuous acting, but a detached appreciation is all it gets for the trouble: this sequence is agonizingly slow.

It's hard to believe that this film was directed by John Frankenheimer, the man behind the visionary, taut thriller, The Manchurian Candidate. He should have been right at home with this material.