I just saw Chinatown for the first time, and can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Knowing ahead of time there was a sequel I looked it up and was surprised to see it had gotten poor reviews. Now I'm sure this is no Chinatown, but is it as bad as they say?
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I'm never gonna die... Only old people die.
I'm not sure how bad anyone says it is, but I thought it was very poor. I probably would not think this if the original was as good as it was, but Chinatown was a masterpiece and this was just a weak sequel.
This movie really just went through the motions of a good crime/suspense movie. There were mysteries in the show that were supposed to keep us watching, but I found the whole movie really predictable, so I would also think that a private detective wouldn't take two hours to figure it out.
Jake Gittes is not the same character I don't think. He is similar, but they've just taken his sassy/badass side and enhanced it too much. His directing is kind of interesting, but it seems like the whole thing was just to get the character Jake Gittes into another situation, so as not to let him go.
From the reviews I've seen, I thought that the critics were being too nice to this sequel because of Chinatown, I would give it two stars when the reviews I've seen gave it three.
This probably won't help you, I'm sure you've seen it already, but I just felt I should respond to your question.
Perhaps I'm being overly critical, but the only momentum that this movie has, it got from Chinatown.
I've seen this film now at least 3 times. I had to because I didn't really get the story. But then it took me as many watchings of Chinatown to fully get it too. Robert Towne wrote these as complicated stories that answer questions out of order. Personally I think both films are brilliant.
They are also interesting and fun to watch from a historical perspective. And the artistic design of T2J is flawless.
I think the comment that Jake Gittes wasn't the same character is interesting. I would ask you... are YOU the same person you were 10 years ago? Or are you older, fatter, somewhat less quick on the ball and perhaps even a bit more jaded and restrained than you were then? Time, and the challenges of life, changes every one of us. So to expect Jake Gittes to be the same man he was after losing Evelyn Mulwray to a bullet in Chinatown, serving in WWII, and god knows what else in the 10 years between stories is preposterous.
In fact I thought Nicholson's performance of Gittes in T2J showed a character who WAS a bit world-worn, but more polished, more mature, more responsible. He'd had his run-ins with the LAPD and perhaps had his hands slapped a number of times. His line, "In this town I'm the leper with the most fingers", attests to his pride in being a "respectable" PI - something that the more juvenile Gittes who told his cohorts the Chinaman's sex joke with sophomoric glee might not have cared as much about.
I for one am glad Jake Gittes was portrayed as a different character, and I'm also glad that I am not the same person I was ten years ago :-)
No. People are just upset because they didn't get Chinatown vol.2.
shareJack Nicholson deliberately changed the tone of the film aswell as the Gittes charatcer. Gittes is worn and frustrated in this one, and slightly less sure of himself than he was in the first. That is, the events of the first film have made him more cynical. Thus, I must give the film some credit for showing growth of character even if the film fails in all of the other departments of filmaking. Take away the convlouted plot, and make some of the dailogue a little better and you have a film which is every bit as charming as Chinatown.
share *Gittes is worn and frustrated in this one, and slightly less sure of himself than he was in the first. That is, the events of the first film have made him more cynical.*
Now to me it didn't seem like he was more worn down and frusterated and unsure of himself. He should have been and if that is what I had gathered from watching this one than that would be a good thing and I would give it credit for the change as well, but what I gathered was that because of the success of the first movie and the character, they made a new movie just for the character but then they amplified the things they thought people liked about the character without good reason. He seemed overconfident and cocky to me in this one, it was like Jake Gittes from the first movie only too much of what made him good.
This is just my opinion, just to make that clear. Everyone sees different things when looking at something, and I respect the way in which you made your point of view apparent without attacking in anyway. Perhaps I'm wrong and should look at the movie again, but this is what I gathered. I still cannot say I liked it.
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It's not a good movie, but for Chinatown fans, it's an intersting one.
shareI'd be excited to see it. I can't find it anywhere though.
"My movie is not about Vietnam...My movie is Vietnam." -Francis Ford Coppola
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No,it's as bad as everyone makes it out it be.True,it is a tough one when paralleled with a noir classic.But,for me,bad films usually involve dire acting,an awful script and woeful directing.To me,there is not much of a case for finger waging such criticism at this picture.I think people easily tag or label it as poor,because they were expecting another classic.It's a good tale well acting and directed.Not all movies are masterpieces,but some fail to understand that.
"It too was transdimensional,
something monstrous crammed down into
human flesh"
Chinatown is my all time favorite film, so I did enjoy the 2 Jakes and own it. For me, however, I just could not buy the 2 stunning lead actresses both throwing themselves at Jake, who is clearly cynical and suspicious... it doesn't work for me and Meg Tilly's performance is clearly her most bland. On the other hand, Ruben Blades performance is absolutely terrifying and heart-stopping in it's authenticity... and the sets, locations shots and costumes are stunning. If you liked Chinatown, you really should see The Two Jakes. 7 out of 10 stars for me.
shareChiantown is also one of my all time favorite films. I attempted to Watch The Two Jakes last night. I was prepared for a mediorchre film, and was in no way expecting a worthy sequel to Chinatown. I did. however, think that the film would be watchable.
I thought this film was horrendous, and as bad as people warned me it was, I didn't expect it to be this terrrible. A movie doesn't have to be great for me to enjoy it, and there are many bad films that I like and will watch for their entertainment value. I was just completely dissapointed by this film. Everything from the character of Gittes to the score seemed wrong to me. Which is unfortunate, because it would have been interesting to see the trilogy, but with The Two Jakes reviews and performance at the box office, that is very unlikely to ever happen.
ive owned chinatown on dvd since its been on dvd and watched it many many many times, i've only just spotted this in my local dvd shop, so im hoping it will be good.
review to come...
I wouldn't say it's bad. Certainly not as good as Chinatown, but I enjoyed it. It's definitely not as bad as the IMDB score would indicate.
shareNo, not at all. It's actually pretty good. The trick is, you have to watch "Chinatown" first, THEN watch "The Two Jakes" shortly afterward. "The Two Jakes" depends heavily on "Chinatown" to give it resonance. I've watched it both on its own, and after viewing the earlier film. On its own, it's a bit weak but still enjoyable. Watched with Chinatown, it makes a LOT more sense, and everything falls into place.
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To my surprise, I actually enjoyed this movie a lot. You just can't compare it to Chinatown, especially because that was very much a product of its time and this wasn't made until long after it, and I think most people who hate it so much were just expecting something more like Chinatown.
There were a lot of things that bothered me about it and even a lot of moments when I was sure it was going to end up being a disappointment. I thought the large amount of flashbacks taken right out of Chinatown were a little cheesy. Some details that tied this movie to that one like the reappearance of Kahn seemed unnecessary and a little unrealistic. The very dated score is kind of jarring. But I ended up being quite impressed by the ending and really liking it as its own kind of film. Even the humor, though a very different type of humor that there sometimes is in Chinatown, was really enjoyable.
"Ah, you've come to read my trousers!"
"To my surprise, I actually enjoyed this movie a lot. You just can't compare it to Chinatown, especially because that was very much a product of its time and this wasn't made until long after it, and I think most people who hate it so much were just expecting something more like Chinatown."
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Agreed. That's the inherent problem of a sequel to a beloved film ... 'well that was no Chinatown.' Well yeah, and most films are no Citizen Kane, Laurence of Arabia, 8 1/2 et cetera.
The more useful question is the story good and did you enjoy it? I did.
Admittedly, the Jake Berman motive ties on whether one finds it believable that a dying man would choose to keep it a secret from his wife. I guess it falls on whether it is believable that he had to in order to not feed his wife to the wolf (Bodine). As it happened, it was a failed idea but that is hindsight. The question remains is that believable?
If the viewer can get by that, the rest of the story is quite solid and interesting.
Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed
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