Popeye Doyle is a 1986 Pilot Movie that follows The French Connection and stars Ed O'Neill as Popeye.
While investigating a seemingly routine drug overdose that becomes an involved murder case, Popeye Doyle becomes involved in an international cartel, with Mossad and other international agencies turning up at every corner.
This film shows examples of the following tropes:
- The Alleged Car: The Taxi they commandeer in the chase starts losing power, but is able to keep up with the suspects (there's also a broken down car on the highway during the chase).
- Big Bad: Auram Bardas, a.k.a. the Weasel.
- Bottomless Magazines: Averted. Over the course of the opening chase, Popeye fires just three shots with his revolver, while the criminal he's chasing has to stop to reload.
- Car Chase: Popeye and Parese start one while pursuing robbers/cop killers.
- Like the second movie, the film's climax involves Popeye and Kellerman chasing after the Weasel through a hospital into an abandoned building.
- Continuity Nod: Popeye's accidental shooting of a federal officer in The French Connection is mentioned during the press conference after gunning down the cafe robbers/cop killers.
- Darkened Building Shootout: The final showdown with the Weasel.
- Drives Like Crazy: The criminals in the beginning, after gunning down a police officer and taking his car, drive on the wrong side of the road, almost get into several accidents, and end the Car Chase by crashing into a van. Their stunts even scare Popeye.
- Flashed-Badge Hijack: Similar to the source material, Popeye and Parese stop and comandeer a car - this time a taxi (a real tactic done by NYPD) - to chase the cop killers.
- Hostage Situation: One of the robbers takes a cleaning lady hostage after Doyle and Parese run them off the road and into a hotel, and done again by the Weasel with a nurse near then, both leading to:
- Human Shield: Attempted and failed. The cleaning lady faints (although he never actually points the gun at her).
- Iconic Item: It wouldn't have been a French Connection spinoff without Popeye's porkpie hat.
- Middle Eastern Terrorists: The Weasel is a terrorist-for-hire from the Middle East.
- Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: A prostitute's murder: International drug smuggling operation.
- Neck Snap: Popeye finishes off the Weasel by strangling him with a log.
- Pilot Movie: Unfortunately, one that wasn't picked up.
- That One Case: Mentioned to be so with the two cafe robbers in the beginning. Turns out they were on a hold-up spree.
