Review of The French Connection (1971) by Patrick W — 16 Apr 2012

I found this film extremely slow paced, and filled with poorly defined characters. I suppose when it was first made the simple fact that the police were "gritty" rather then upstanding good guys was enough to make it stand out. These days I don't feel "grit" alone makes for an interesting multi dimensional character.

The acting was solid and the action was exciting (although a bit few and far between for what is supposed to be an action thriller). Ultimately I didn't really care if the cops won or not in the end. During the final chase in the abandoned building the score and atmosphere was clearly meant to build suspense, but because the characters were so bland I was just hoping the building would collapse and crush everyone.