Jack Nicholson Movie:

Editorial Review:
Set more than a decade after the story in Chinatown, this 1990 sequel brings Jack Nicholson back to the screen as L.A. private detective Jake Gittes. Older, fatter, worn, and frustrated, the Jake of 1948 is still haunted by the tragic events of the earlier film. While investigating a case involving adultery and questionable land dealings by an L.A. tycoon (Harvey Keitel as the other Jake), Gittes unexpectedly confronts a few old ghosts and discovers that the resource of choice in Southern California--one for which people die--is no longer water but oil. The film had a notorious production history, with Nicholson taking over the project from writer-director Robert Towne, and the dense plot can be difficult to follow. But if The Two Jakes doesn't measure up to the legendary status of its stylish predecessor, the film does satisfy on its own terms and brings the events of Chinatown to a moving conclusion. Terrific work by Keitel and supporting players Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Eli Wallach, and Ruben Blades. --Tom Keogh

The Two Jakes [Region 2] Reviews:
The Two Jakes
2009-09-23 - I love Jack Nicholson and have never been disappointed in any of his roles. I understand this movie didn't get rave reviews or large attendance at the theaters when it came out, but it takes being able to pull oneself away from the modern action and special effects movies that are so popular now and let oneself settle into a slower paced but thoroughly entertaining story.

The Two Jakes
2009-07-15 - I bought The Two Jakes do to the fact I already own Chinatown witch is a better picture. Both pictures are a little draggy but worth watching if you can stand a twisted mystery. As for the price and shipment, can't find a better deal.

Muddled presentation of a good follow-up to a great movie
2008-12-11 - Private eye Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) coaches a cuckolded husband (Harvey Keitel) on the proper way to confront his wife (Meg Tilly) and her lover while Jake waits next door, taping the event for future use in divorce proceedings. Events take an unexpected turn when Jake's client produces a gun and shoots his rival, thereby making Jake a possible accessory to murder. That's just for starters. There will be many twists and turns involving real estate development, natural gas, and the persistent specter of the murdered Evelyn Mulwray and her missing daughter.

There is a very good movie here with complex characters and a fine conclusion, but I must count myself among those who found the script and direction somewhat muddled. When a long film presents a complicated story, it can be difficult to know which scenes were extraneous until the final credits roll, so I was left with the strong impression that the narrative should have been better focused without being exactly sure where it went astray, aside from finding many of the flashbacks to the previous film to be rather unwieldy.


one of the great sequals
2008-12-01 - Crazy as it may sound I like this film better than Chinatown and i adore Chinatown. One thing to understand about "The Two Jakes" is that it is like a fine wine. It grows better and better with age in that with each viewing the atmosphere (wonderfully created by Nicholson and his DP),plot, performances (Keitel, Nicholson and Stowe stand out to me) and scope of the film increase in terms of the viewers perception. The first time i watched it i was fairly unimpressed, now it is possibly my favorite film of all time. And to me great movies are like that, they provide something fresh to the viewer every time you watch them. This is the most underrated movie of the 90's and proof of Jack Nicholson's prowess as film director.

Attention must be paid
2008-07-30 - Dismissed by critics and audiences upon its initial release in 1990, the Two Jakes has more or less faded into obscurity while the film that inspired it remains a big part of the American cultural fabric. Perhaps the fault is not entirely Nicholson's--the themes of movies like the Godfather and Chinatown lent themselves a lot better to the more introspective and brooding methods of the 70's.
Mind you, the Two Jakes is also brooding and introspective, but it is also sloppy and inept in the key places. Where Chinatown had a clear and focused narrative throughout, The Two Jakes drags its feet for a dangerously long time and far too many of the scenes are either redundant or awkward. Chinatown moved at a deceptively leisurely pace, following Gittes around the city. Nicholson tries to emulate this in his role as director, but the chief impression is not of revelation(as it was in the previous film) but of a private investigator running errands. This is due in part to the films notorious production history, but is exacerbated by the unfinished script coupled with Nicholson's lack of experience in the most important seat of filming.
In spite of many of these failings, The Two Jakes manages to be a surprisingly enjoyable film even if it doesn't convey the sense of despair of its predecessor. There are fine performances from Keitel and Nicholson and the cinematography is perhaps the most beautiful I've ever seen, giving Los Angles of the 1940's a crisp and optimistic look which befits the prevailing attitude of the time. While Nicholson fails to give the film the tremendous narrative force of Chinatown, he does manage to offer further insights into both his character and his character's past and effectively ties the film up in a surprisingly restrained ending.