Thoughts/revview.

Just saw the grittiest crime thriller ever. The French Connection directed by William Friedkin starring Gene Hackman in one of his best performances ever. It’s no surprise that he won an academy award for his work here. Roy Scheider is great complementing the hothead cop potentially suffering from OCD by being his calm, composed, grounding anchor. I haven’t seen a film with more nerve-wracking, adrenaline-drenched chase sequences. A majority of the film has the cop duo stalking their prey. The film-makers don’t show the characters delve much into the operational details of their mission, but we mostly see them watching, anticipating and on the verge of pouncing. A thoroughly rewarding watch- thrilling, gripping, entertaining and wholly satisfying. Watching the film made me instantly recall Scoresese’s The Departed (2006). I wondered, "Why don’t we have cop films today where the lead characters aren’t saying cool *beep* to flash their bad-ass personality?" These characters here are typical no-nonsense strong, silent types despite one of the two being an obnoxious hothead unwilling to resign to the limitations of his role. He won’t stop until the masterminds behind his targeted drug operation are caught.

10/10.

http://premiercritic.blogspot.in