It's an exquisite short story about a mood, and a time, and a couple of guys who are blind-sided by love.
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This is a worthy successor to Chinatown - full of ecological and geological insights into Los Angeles history that recall Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald and give a view of southern California that could have been conceived only by a native.
80
Empire
Empire
The Two Jakes is well-acted and looks fabulous, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond paints it eerily bright and shiny.
Robert Towne's screenplay is less opportunistic than many of his efforts in recent years, although it still contains moments designed merely to shock or titillate.
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Towne doesn't weave all the elements as deftly as before, and his political observations seem secondhand.
50
TV Guide Magazine
TV Guide Magazine
What it lacks are the dramatic underpinnings and emotional core that made the original film an engrossing mystery as well as a cinema classic.
50
Variety
Variety
This oft-delayed sequel proves a jumbled, obtuse yet not entirely unsatisfying follow-up to Chinatown, rightly considered one of the best films of the 1970s.
At best, the movie comes across as a competently assembled job, a wistful tribute to its former self. At worst, it's wordy, confusing and - here's an ugly word - boring.