This aint no Chinatown...But it aint a bad film either...

Theres a user review on the main page for The Two Jakes that perfectly sums up this films predicament "A wonderful film that had the misfortune of being a sequel to a classic film." Well I dont know that "wonderful" is the most appropiate descriptor but its a good film. Its basically Chinatown lite.

If this was a stand alone film and it had no connection to Chinatown it would probably be better liked. The story is better than that of most films as you would come to expect from Robert Towne who is one of the best scripters ever. But its a rung on the ladder below the water system story of Chinatown. Nicholsons direction is also solid but again just a level below that of Polanski in Chinatown. Also it a lacks that knockout punch that Chinatown had with its sudden, unexpected, harsh ending.

All in all I think this film gets a an unnecessarily bad rap mostly due to the unrealistic expectations that only a sequel to Chinatown could illicit. Now I say tts time to bring on chapter three of the Jake trilogy...Cloverleaf!!!

I give 7/10

There is NO Gene for the Human Spirit.