(Note: Due to time constraints, and since we’d both seen Godfather Part 1 before, we decided to only watch Godfather Part II.)
I wonder where Francis Ford Coppola has gone recently. It seems like he suffered from the George Lucas syndrome: put out a few amazing movies that change the face of film-making forever, then try to recapture that magic by following up with a bunch of terrible films that tarnish his legacy for eternity (after Apocalypse Now, he hasn’t really made much worth remembering). That said, this was one of the films made during his golden era, and it shows – part 2 of the Godfather saga is every bit as good as it’s predecessor, richly deserves it’s place on the list, and continues the saga of the Corleone family.
The film actually follows two plots: The modern era plot continues where The Godfather left off, with Michael Corleone as the head of the family and their continuing deals, schemes, and such. The second plot follows the early life of Vito Corleone, the head of the family in the first movie, and provides a lot of exposition and backstory into his character. Coppola’s directorial style is present throughout.
The Godfather Part II goes on for more than 3 hours, but it never drags on. Robert DeNiro is fantastic as young Vito Corleone, Al Pacino continues to be great as Michael, and the supporting cast is as great as they were in the last movie, with a fill spectrum of characters, from hilarious to scary to outright crazy. Watch The Godfather Part I first, but you should most definitely watch this movie.
Score: 5/5 (A 5 is a movie I absolutely loved, would see again many times, and would recommend to absolutely everybody. I probably think it should be rated higher on the list than it currently is.)
