Tags
1990's, Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Crime, Diane Keaton, Eli Wallach, Francis Ford Coppola, Joe Mantegna, Sofia Coppola, Talia Shire, The Godfather Part III, The Godfather Trilogy
Film Title
The Godfather Part III
Director
Francis Ford Coppola
Starring:
- Al Pacino as Michael Corleone
- Diane Keaton as Kay Adams
- Andy Garcia as Vincent Mancini-Corleone
- Talia Shire as Connie Corleone
- Eli Wallach as Don Altobello
- Joe Mantegna as Joey Zasa
- Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone
The third and final entry into the epic Godfather Saga, Part III is commonly seen as the weakest. It is true that it doesn’t live up to the incredibly high standard of the two films before it, but taken as a film by itself and as the conclusion of the saga it isn’t as bad as some make it out to be.
The year is 1979 , Michael Corleone is ageing and a shadow of his former self. He is haunted by decisions he has made in the past, most prominently ordering the death of his brother Fredo, and has been trying to make family as legit as possible as a way of redemption. But no matter how hard he tries to distance himself from the business, the more it keeps coming back to him. The first instance of this is the presence of Mafia boss Joey Zasa, a cunning, double-crossing man who has a bone to pick with a member of Michael’s family. The family member is Vincent, the illegitimate son of the late Sonny, whose temper and volatile actions are clearly are inherited from his father. Michael takes Vincent under his wing and sees potential in his young nephew to inherit the position as Don. The other instance that pulls Michael back into the crime game, is a deal with the Vatican Bank, that is in actual fact a concealed swindle of Michael’s money. Whilst having to cope with all of these events, the guilt-ridden Michael tries to patch up old wounds with his ex-wife Kay, and is further troubled by Vincent’s relationship with his naive, young daughter Mary.
As I’ve mentioned earlier there are flaws within the last part of Francis Ford Coppola’s film. For one, the plot involving the Vatican Bank Scandal is sometimes to hard to follow and certainly outlandish. Also, although I respect Sofia Coppola as a director, she is unfortunately miscast in the role of Mary, a fact that many critics pointed out at the time. Sofia Coppola, despite this criticism has established herself as a respected director since this and good for her. Now I’ve spoken about the negatives, I will proceed to the positives.
Al Pacino effectively conveys Michael’s remorse for his past misdeeds and his reluctance to get involved in any further crime. His scene with Diane Keaton as the long-suffering Kay, in which both characters admit that the still care for each other is certainly a touching moment. Admirably supporting him is Andy Garcia, who is frequently electrifying as Vincent, capturing the violent nature of him but showing an undying loyalty and humanity when it comes to protecting his uncle from opposition. Talia Shire is equally as good, showing Connie’s metamorphosis from downtrodden, abused wife to master manipulator and right hand woman to her reluctant older brother. It is Shire’s best performance in the series in my opinion. As always, the music and stunning cinematography are up to an impeccable standard, showing the nostalgic glow of family ties and the savage brutality of the crime lifestyle. All of this builds up to a bullet-ridden and devastating climax to Coppola’s unbeatable trilogy.
This may be one of my most controversial reviews, but I personally think the film, because of the reputation of the other’s has been neglected to the sidelines.
ckckred said:
Nice review. For me, this remains a very underrated movie. It isn’t as strong as the first two, but those are two of the greatest films ever made. It isn’t a flawless movie, but it’s far better than what most people give credit for.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, glad you agree.
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Terry Malloy's Pigeon Coop said:
Nice review man. I’ve only seen the first Godfather film. I definitely need to put that right.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, hope you get round to seeing the other two films.
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TBM said:
I need to rewatch this one. Actually, I need to rewatch the whole trilogy. I don’t remember hating this one, but I just didn’t love it as much as the other two. And the other two are just about perfect.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, yeah the other two are outstanding films.
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beautifulorange said:
That’s a good review. This film really has had the sh*t kicked out of it over the years – but like you say, as a stand alone movie it’s pretty good. Sophia Coppola produces one of the worst performances in the history of film – and as an important character that really brings the whole thing down. But well done for daring to say that, really, this ain’t bad at all!
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vinnieh said:
Thanks man, glad you agree with what I said.
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Gene said:
I felt like the film tried to be all about Michael’s emotional reckoning with his past decisions and occasionally tripped over tying up other loose ends. That could explain the less than stellar bank scandal and casting concerns.
I was also disappointed that Michael’s son wasn’t a bigger player in taking over as Don. Would have been an interesting twist if he and Vincent butted heads, along with one (or both) desiring Michael’s approval, IMHO. Good review, I’m glad you liked it, I also think it gets a little too harsh of treatment.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for your comment.
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Garrett said:
Good review. It’s my least favorite Godfather film, but it’s got some really tough competition. It is a decent movie, just not on the same level as the first two.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for your comment man.
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keith7198 said:
Nice review. This is a much maligned sequel but one I really can’t remember much about. I really need to rewatch it and you have me itching to do so now.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, glad I made you consider giving it a rewatch.
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Teddy Casimir said:
Have also only seen the first Godfather film as with a previous poster. Yet, I never had plans to watch this third installment after I get around to seeing the second. But lately, like with your review, I’ve seen many reviewers stating that the third film just fails to live up to the first two and that people say it’s bad only because of that shortcoming/comparison. Maybe I’ll give it a chance after all?
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, hope you get to see it.
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robbinsrealm said:
Good review! I remember being incredibly psyched to see this when I was in my junior year of high school. The first two Godfather movies rank among my favorite films of all time. I was never one of those people who didn’t like the third film. I took it on its own merits, and, while I don’t love it like I do the first two parts of the saga, I certainly have always liked it.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, glad to see it getting good feedback.
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Alex Withrow said:
I think you nailed it here. I agree that the Vatican bank scandal subplot is kind of lame, and Sofia’s acting is, well, awful, but other than that, I can dig Part III. You’re right, this film always had the misfortune of living up to its two predecessors, which was next to impossible.
It isn’t great and it isn’t terrible, and that’s fair enough, right?
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for your comment, really appreciate it.
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jenkakio said:
I have yet to watch this movie. I loved #1 and even #2, but not as much as #1. As you said, this movie doesn’t not live up to #1, but what trilogy does…well, not counting Star Wars (altho, Star Wars is not a trilogy, but you get the point 🙂 ) Anyways, eye-opening review…I might as well give it a shot.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, glad you liked reading it.
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Mark Hobin said:
Nice review. Why do you think it’s one of your most controversial?
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, I think it’s controversial because people’s opinions have always been divided about the film.
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sanclementejedi said:
This is actually the only one of the Godfather films that I saw at the theater. Did this have a Christmas opening?
To be honest I don’t think I have only seen it once since then … When I hosted a 3 night Godfather Fest in my dorm when I was an RA in college. Nice review.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I think it did open around Christmas.
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silverscreenings said:
I haven’t seen part 3. To be honest, I always lose interest in the narrative after the scene in the 1st movie where Marlon Brando dies in the garden. I know, I know – I’m missing the entire point of the movies!
However, it’s nice to see your defense of part 3 since it get slammed so much.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I just don’t think it’s as bad as many have made it out to be.
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martin250 said:
nice review and insight. am glad that you you gave this film more deserving credit. i thought it was great because of the positives you mentioned, but also because i found the inclusion of the Vatican Bank to be an engaging aspect. don’t remember the details, but agree it was difficult to follow and probably took me a second viewing to understand its affairs.
like you said, Sophia Coppola was miscasted and Andy Garcia was electrifying. about Al Pacino, i remember liking that great confessional scene he had with the priest.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I thought it was about time the film received some credit.
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