This sequel to "Fantomas" is more of a cash-in. It's more kiddie-orientated than the original, and Inspector Juve's screen time has been increased, which is good news if you're a Louis De Funes fan, but makes the film unbearable if you're not (at least Juve's lethal gadgets mostly work!). At the same time, the stunts and action have been reduced dramatically, and it would not be much of an exaggeration to say that almost nothing happens in this movie until the last 10 minutes or so. If you make it that far, you will find the film's only memorable scenes, which actually predate some classic Bond sequences by more than a decade; a car that can fly ("The Man With The Golden Gun") and a fall out of a plane without a parachute ("Moonraker"). These European films are often categorized as James Bond "ripoffs", but sometimes they had inventions of their own that were possibly copied by the Bond series later! ** out of 4.

This one is actually superior to the first installment in the series (see above): the plot revolves around a couple of scientists who have each been working on a brain-washing device(!) and who had been hoping to unite their forces in order to perfect it - which places it, more or less, into the realm of science fiction; needless to say, Fantomas sees this as a good way to bring about world-domination (with him as its ruler) and promptly kidnaps them!

The heroic reporter couple and the comic police duo are back on the criminal's trail; however, this time around it's not only Fantomas who takes up various disguises to carry out his nefarious schemes (though the mask worn by the actor is too obvious and won't fool any audience member!) but also the other Jean Marais and De Funes/Juve!; another novelty is the more personal nature of the relationship between the Mylene Demongeot character and Marais/Fantomas: at one point, she's herself kidnapped and one almost expects their relationship to be developed into something approximating to a parallel romance, but it's never taken that far and we're soon back to more familiar (and less challenging) ground!

The finale takes place in Fantomas' volcanic hide-out; interestingly, footage from Haroun Tazieff's LES RENDEZ-VOUS DU DIABLE (1958) - a documentary about volcanic eruptions - was interspersed into the actual film for authenticity's sake...before it reverts to fancy, with the master criminal's racing-car converted instantaneously into a jet and taking flight!!

Fantômas Se Déchaine (or Fantômas Unleashed for the English title) is of the same quality as the first movie from one year earlier. For 1965 you can't expect big special effects, but for that year it was certainly good enough. It reminds me of the time I watched Louis de Funès movies with my grandparents what was always a pleasant and funny time of cinema. Louis de Funès will always stay the best French comedian, and that's mostly due to his hyperactive temper and his great mimicking. The Fantômas trilogy is maybe not his funniest movies but they were entertaining, certainly for that time. Watching this so many years later I still enjoy it, even though it's obvious that we're used to watch better things nowadays.