The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II are two of the most critically acclaimed films in the history of cinema. When I watched The Godfather for the first time, I thought of it as being good but terribly overrated. About a half a year later, I decided to give it a second viewing, and upon this second viewing I enjoyed it much more, and recognize just how fantastic it really is. At the time of this review, I have seen The Godfather: Part II for the first time about a month prior to this. In my personal opinion, The Godfather: Part II is the superior film, an absolute masterpiece and a fantastic sequel at that. I was reluctant to give the third film a try since I’ve heard so much negative backlash toward it.
If you have never seen first two films in the trilogy, then you will scarcely understand the third installment, and therefore this review may not apply to you. Bluntly put, The Godfather: Part III falls into what I like to call “The Curse of the Trilogy”, in which a trilogy contains two solid first installments but the third film doesn’t measure up, and in many cases ends up being a poor film on its own. This curse has plagued sequels for years and it’s hard to find a solid trilogy anymore.
The Godfather: Part III, like the first two films, is directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film takes place in 1979, twenty years after Part II, in which Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is older, seasoned, and guilt-ridden about his past. The plot follows Michael’s attempt to finally legitimize the Corleone family, this time via stock exchange and bank percentages involving the Vatican. Joining Michael in his battle against those who obstruct his goal is Vincent Mancini (Andy García), Santino Corleone’s son born from Lucy Mancini, the woman he was having an affair with in the first film. Vincent begins to take matters into his own hands regarding the Corleone family’s actions when Michael is weary and unable to, and begins an incestuous relationship with Michael’s daughter Mary (Sofia Coppola).
This “threequel” is plagued with problems. Most notably is Sofia Coppola’s performance, which is dull, exasperating, and sticks out like a sore thumb when she’s performing next to the brilliant talents of Pacino and Garcia, among others. Another issue is the film’s plot, which makes me feel as if Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo ran out of ideas for this one. The original idea for Part III is another problem I have with it, being that I’m disappointed it wasn’t utilized.
Originally, Part III was to chronicle a split between Michael and Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) from the first two films, and the plot was going to revolve around that. However, Robert Duvall felt insulted by his and Pacino’s intended salaries (being that Pacino had three to four times more) and dropped out of the film, causing a re-write. To me, Part III feels empty without Tom, and I honestly think this original idea would have made for a better follow-up to Part II.
Granted, there are things I liked about it. I actually enjoyed the prerequisite of having to see Part I and II in order to understand most of the third film, I honestly see it as a sort of reward. Pacino’s performance is great as always, and I can sympathize with his torment at this point, but I say García stood out the most, as Coppola said himself, Vincent is very much an amalgamation of the Corleone family males, though with his own respective characteristics.
I wouldn't say that Part III was unnecessary, if the original Godfather was regarded as such a masterpiece, was a sequel to that necessary? I wouldn’t even say Part III is terrible, it’s just disappointing. Unfortunately, it’s something we’ve grown accustomed to when we talk about third movies, save for very few exceptions. 6.5 out of 10.
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