Review of The Godfather Part II (1974) by Entertain Me O — 31 Aug 2013

Following up to the perfection that was the original Godfather was no small feat, but The Godfather: Part II does it in spades. Francis Ford Coppola and everyone involved made sure that they were recreating the same magic that made the first film so great while pursuing a completely different storyline.

This film was the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and I believe that it is because it does what every great sequel does: Inspires discussion on if it is better than the original or not? There have been and there will continue to be debates surrounding this question.

Now that I've gushed about how good I think this film is I'll explain why. Many of these parallel what made the first film so fantastic like Coppola's direction. Just like with the original he takes his time to craft the narrative of the story, but never does it feel indulgent or unnecessary.

Sometimes when you watch a film that is 3 hours or longer it's easy to pick and choose what scenes should be cut, but not with this one. There are so many nuances in the narrative that it is imperative you pay attention every second.

The acting is also as good as it was in the previous film. Al Pacino is able to flex is acting chops a little more as Michael Corleone comes into his own as head of the family. However the real treat here is Robert DeNiro as a young Vito Corleone.

Stepping into a role that was originally played by Marlon Brando was not easy by any means, but DeNiro does it flawlessly. He is able to display the two sides of the character just as well as Brando did, and truly make us believe that this man became the icon from the first film.

Finally I'll wrap up with the story. Basically it follows two separate narratives: One is Michaels search for a betrayer in his ranks, and the other is Vito's rise to the head of the mob. It's a pretty risky move splitting a narrative in two that is separated by decades of time with no possibility of intersecting, but like all the risks taken with this movie it pays off.

The narratives play off of each other well and there are even several parallels between the two. Everything in this film works and I would unquestionably buy it again. Now here comes the eternal question: Which one is better? Honestly for me this changes with every viewing, but currently I have to go with the first one.

I just absolutely love that final scene at the christening and seeing things begin.