The critics have acclaimed The Godfather Part II as the greatest sequel of all time. Many have gone on to say that it is better than the original. I am not sure and I will try and explain why.
Before I begin I will say that the film I watched was the 25th anniversary video. Similar to the original there are spoilers at the beginning of the video! So fast forward past those and watch the interviews etc after you have watched the movie.
The second part begins in the Godfather’s old office, exactly where the first film ended. However, the main part of the story is approximately 10 years after the original finished. Michael is the new Don. He is the head of the Corleone family and after re-instating them as the most powerful of the 5 New York families he relocated the family to Nevada. He has the problem that he is filling the shoes of a massively popular and well respected man. Can he continue to run the family in the way the Godfather did and can he realise his dreams of making the family business legitimate? This is/was Michael\'s dream and his previous promise to his wife Kay that he would make the business
legitimate in 5 years has proved to be a hollow one.
This film tries to tell the story of the rise of the Godfather and at the same time show his son\'s attempts to fill his shoes in Nevada. As a result the story jumps around a bit. This is perhaps the best part of the entire story. We learn why Vito was forced to leave his native Sicily. We see him fight to earn an honest living in New York before the local mafia chief Don Fanucci begins to demand payment from the young Vito. This goes against all of Vito’s principals and he takes actions against Fanucci. This sees his status rise immeasurably in the local neighbourhood. He continues to act as kindly as he can but develops a ruthless streak. Robert De Niro plays the young Vito Corleone magnificently. As usual he appears to have put a lot of work into creating the character that could feasibly be the same one that appears as an elderly leader in the Godfather. I would have preferred the story of Vito to be told as one big story as I feel it is too fragmented and doesn’t run as well as it would have done together. But who am I to criticise one of the most acclaimed movies of all time.
Having said that the story of Vito’s rise is secondary to the continuing story of how Michael is developing the family. The traits which made his father so well respected, are traits that Michael loved him for, and ones that he hopes to show himself. However, the Michael Corleone that is developing is a far different character from his father and almost unrecognisable from the person at Connie’s wedding. However, we have seen all of the circumstances which have caused this change in his character. At times through this movie I was reminded of Pacino playing the devil in \"The Devil’s Advocate\", Michael’s character does get that dark at times.
You feel that Michael is doing all he can to hold the family together but he has massive obstacles put in his path by those closest to him. His sister Connie goes from one man to another and is a constant nuisance to Michael. His brother Fredo betrays him which is the one thing that Michael cannot comprehend or forgive. His wife Kay wants to leave him as she cannot bring her children up in the environment that they are living in. These are all things that the Godfather never had to contend with and you feel that times have moved on to a different age and even the Godfather may have struggled to control the current empire. In saying that his manner would have been far more suited to this age.
There are clues that Michael believes in the Godfather above all else but he fails to follow his father’s most important advice about spending time with his family. His lawyer, Tom Hagen even buys Christmas presents for his children.
The story is perhaps more concerned with the dark side of the Mafia and it does not paint them in the favourable light that the first movie did.
I liked the second movie a lot. Particularly the flashbacks to Vito’s earlier life. The development of Michael is also astonishing. You can see how he has ended up going down the road he has, as every individual decision seems logical. It’s just the cumulative effect that leaves a broken man. I felt that the plot was a little complex but I didn’t have the benefit of having read a book as Michael’s story goes beyond the original book. Having said that the film is over 3 hours long and I am sure I will take a lot more in on future viewings.
This is the only sequel that has ever won a Best Film Oscar so I suppose this goes a long way to showing how good a film it is in its own right.
On first viewing I think I prefer the original but I think having the background to the story helped a lot. On future viewings I can see why this film could grow to surpass the original.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Martin Brest - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Marcia Gay Harden, Jake Weber, Claire Forlani, Jeffrey Tambor
The Godfather Part II is one of the rare breed of cinematic sequels which is as good as, ... more
and perhaps better than, the original. Al Pacino heads the star cast as Michael Corleone, heir to the criminal empire established by his Mafioso father, the late D...
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