The Godfather: Part III

Starring: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Sofia Coppola
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
1990

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has spent many years trying to make his famly business legitimate. He sees the future of the family business both in a deal with the Vatican, and with his firey nephew, Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia).

Review:

Tim: I feel like The Godfather: Part III often gets a bad rap from people. It is not wholly unexpected, as the first two films are among the all time classics in Hollywood history. However, it is notoriously difficult to keep the quality up over a trilogy. Plus, this movie, coming sixteen years after the previous one, was bound to be a bit disappointing. In that context, this movie obviously is disappointing, because it truly isn't up to the level of the previous two movies. However, this is still a great film. It was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. True, it came away 0 for 7, but the nominations are still impressive and show that this movie isn't the disaster some make it out to be.

This movie is still a sprawling, epic look at the continued saga of the Corleone family. It is fascinating to see how the violence, paranoia, betrayals, and secrets of the last two movies impacted the Corleone family. In that aspect, this movie is incredibly interesting, seeing what happens when the chickens come home to roost. The story is also pretty fascinating, how the Corleone family is intertwined with some close to real-life events of the Vatican. While this story isn't as powerful as in Godfather or Godfathr II, it still works. I will admit that the movie suffers from some of the big names. Robert Duvall is terribly missed as Tom Hagen. There is a huge hole where Duvall should have been- I wish they could have worked the deal out financially. Plus, the movie feels like it is missing that ensemble cast of great actors. There is no Marlon Brando, no Robert De Niro, no James Caan. The movie's success is more and more dependent on fewer and fewer actors.

The main two actors are obviously, Al Pacino and Andy Garcia. Pacino is once again excellent as Michael Corleone. He makes this such an iconic role, and I loved seeing the older, wiser, tired Michael Corleone. While I did miss a bit of his fire from the previous film, I really liked that this movie strived to make him a more sympathetic character once again. This resolved one of my issues from the previous film. I loved his performance, but it is not as good as his previous two (which maybe explains why he wasn't nominated for an Academy Award this time around). The second big actor is Andy Garcia. I know some have criticized Garcia's performance, but I just don't see it. I can't think of a better actor to continue in the tradition of Pacino, Caan, De Niro, and Brando. Garcia is great in the role, and I thought he deserved his Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Besides Pacino and Garcia, the rest of the cast are a clear step down (and some, hundreds of steps down). I liked seeing Diane Keaton again, but mostly for continuity purposes. I thought she had a few good moments. Talia Shire was fine, but I thought her transformation was a bit hard to believe. I liked seeing Bridget Fonda in a small role, but she doesn't add much. And then, there is the infamous Sophia Coppola. So much has been said about Coppola (and most of it negative) that I barely want to mention it. I admit that her performance is wooden, bland, and pretty much terrible. Francis Ford Coppola is a terrific director, but he made an absolutely massive mistake in casting his own daughter. I know that other choices fell through, but Coppola was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was the recipient of much of the hate from Godfather fans. I probably don't hate her performance nearly as much as most, but I admit that it was awful and seriously hurt this movie.

While The Godfather: Part III is not an instant classic like the first two films, it is still an impressive, entertaining, great movie. I am definitely not a hater, although I admit that this movie is not in the same league as the first two films. Even still, I was entertained throughout the movie, and I love that this is the first trilogy where all three films were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. That is impressive, no matter how disappointed some might be in this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8



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