It is a fact universally acknowledged that a movie that makes a noise at the box-office is apt to beget a sequel whether it originates in England (Carry On, Sergeant) or The US (Police Academy), sequels which in turn beget sequels (Carry On ..., Halloween ...) growing progressively inferior. Occasionally, however (French Connection II) a sequel will stand comparison with the original and this is the case here. Les Ripoux was a runaway smash on its release not least by virtue of the quirky pairing of Philippe Noiret and Thierry Thermitte and the twisteroo of an old hand guiding a rookie not through the path of righteousness but that of corruption. This time around they are undone when they carry greed a tad too far but there is another twist in store; they are suspended, natch, but their replacements are worse then they ever were so what we have is, as the title suggest, garbage versus garbage. There can, of course, be only one (technically two, for the benefit of pedants) winner but it is the journey that provides the fun and it does no harm at all that Michel Aumont has a supporting role as their immediate boss.

I saw this film while studying in Paris for the year back in college. It's part of a series which apparently was very popular in France. I like the way the French do buddy cop movies. In this one, you really see the cops as humans with real flaws and problems, but their chemistry is undeniable. While the French could learn how to make action films from the US, we here in America can certainly learn from the French not to fear being human . One last note, the title is in pig latin - Ripoux is the inverted word for garbage.