Product: The Two Jakes [VHS] (1990)
Rating: 4.0
Not Better Than Chinatown, But What Is?
"The Two Jakes" is the sequel to "Chinatown." Chinatown is one of my favorite films, it's number 19 on AFI's Top 100, it won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne. A sequel didn't seem necessary, and it's not, but this somehow managed to work. This movie has the formula for a bad sequel; different plot, different actors, different director. Well, not different actor's...Only one character returns from Chinatown, the plot is semi-related, and Jack Nicholson is the director. He's not bad either. The script is by Robert Towne, which is even more surprising. I can't believe he would be inspired to write a sequel. The Two Jakes was made 16 years after Chinatown (in 1990) and it does take place a significant amount of years later; But Jack is still Jake. Nicholson returns as Jake Gittes, our protagonist who walked away from a death at the end of Chinatown. The events from that movie still plague him, but he still does what he does best...He's a private investigator and frequently investigates what got him caught up in all the trouble from the first movie...Marital infidelity. Gittes is investigating whether Jake Berman's (Harvey Keitel) wife is cheating on him, and she is. When Gittes schedules the confrontation, Jake (the Keitel one) shoots his wife's lover...Who also happens to be his business partner. Now Jake (the Nicholson one) is caught up in another conspiracy, which might be directly linked to his past. If you haven't seen Chinatown, don't see The Two Jakes.There are a few references to the first film in here which people who haven't seen the first one won't get. The Two Jakes is entertaining, smart, occasionally exciting, and this is just one of those character's that Nicholson was born to play. Problem is, it drags in places (and it's 7 minutes longer than Chinatown at 138 minutes). As far as sequels go, however, this is a real winner. If you liked (or loved) Chinatown, then you should check this out...But it's definitely not required watching.GRADE: B+