The Godfather: Part II

Starring: Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Talia Shire, Lee Strasberg, Michael V. Gazzo, Bruno Kirby, James Caan, Harry Dean Stanton, Danny Aiello
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
1974

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary:Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has taken over as patriarch of the family. He runs his business his way- and achieves a great deal of success. However, it becomes increasingly dangerous for him as he struggles to maintain a grip on his power.

Review:

Tim: I should start out by saying that without a doubt, this is one of the greatest sequels of all time. It is the only time an Academy Award Best Picture winner's sequel has also managed to claim the Academy's top prize. The Godfather: Part II is a masterpiece in its own right, and deserves to be called one of the greatest American movies of all time. It is a fascinating, beautiful look at a mafia family through their ups and downs as they fight to get their piece of the pie in a changing political and historical landscape. It is a master movie by one of the greatest directors, Francis Ford Coppola. This is the film that set a new standard for sequels.

With all of that being said, the unfair but obvious question is this- Is The Godfather: Part II better than the first film? While this is a highly debatable question, and valid opinions on both sides, I have to weigh in as well. I understand the point that this film may be better- it is a sprawling epic at two generations of the Corleone family- we have young Vito just getting his start in America, as well as the story of his youngest son running the family business after his father's death. While those points are valid, I have to believe that the original movie is just a bit better. That movie was very close to absolute perfection- this movie is close as well, but not as close.

I love how massive and intricate this movie felt. At well over 3 hours long, you might think that this is a bloated movie. It certainly is not. Every scene feels important and vital to the movie as a whole. It moves quickly, and uses its time wisely. The dual stories was also an interesting departure from the original, but it worked here. In many ways, this film felt more like you were watching a novel than a movie. It is a challenging, intelligent story that engages and entertains the audience. I loved that aspect of this movie.

I also loved the cast. Al Pacino is a worthy successor to Marlon Brando's Vito Corleone, and I loved watching Pacino embrace his shot at headlining the film. He makes the role his own, and truly becomes The Godfather in our eyes. He gives a powerful, emotional, harrowing performance. He was excellent. Robert De Niro was the perfect choice to play the young Vito Corleone. He doesn't try to mimic Marlon Brando, but pays tribute to that performance while making the role his own. I cannot think of a better actor to play this part, and I was glad to see he was rewarded with an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. (Interesting sidenote- this is the first time two different actors have both won Oscars for portraying the same character).

The rest of the cast is very good as well. I loved that Robert Duvall got a chance to showcase his talent a bit more here. Like he did in the original film, he quietly makes a major impact on the film with his performance. Diane Keaton was fine, similar to how she was in the first film. I wasn't blown away by her performance and I didn't love her here, but she was more than adequate. The rest of the cast is made up of familiar and new faces, and they all work well within the structure of the story.

Like its predecessor, this movie has a number of iconic lines and scenes, and they are just so wonderful to watch. It is no surprise that this was a wildly successful and beloved movie- and still is today. The movie's greatest scene has to be the kiss of the death and the "I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart!" classic line. I loved this scene. The movie's final images are also quite remarkable.

While I loved this movie and struggle to find any faults with it, I have to admit that it just misses out on reaching the heights of the original. In the first film, although the characters were not the most upstanding or benevolent, you identified with them and easily rooted for them. In this film, it is much more difficult to find any sympathetic characters. I was fascinated by the story, but I had a harder time rooting for them. In the first film, you desperately wanted Michael Corleone to succeed. In this film, he embraced his darker side and that alienated him to some degree from the audience. This was obviously not a fatal flaw, but I thought it hurt the movie just a bit.

While this movie doesn't quite live up to the original, it is still one of all time greatest movies. This is an amazing epic movie, and truly rewrote the book on what a sequel could be.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 9



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Godfather: The Godfather: Part III, Scent of a Woman, Serpico, Once Upon a Time in America