Review of The Godfather Part III (1990) by Lightsandbulbs — 18 Sep 2022

Despite being the shortest film in a series, The Godfather 3 feels far longer than its predecessors for numerous reasons. Firstly, the plot. To put it simply, the storyline involving the Catholic Church in this film is simply uninteresting.

The scenes involving it move at a snail's pace, and the plot point as a whole feels as though it could have been far more interesting than it ended up being. Secondly, the acting. I know that people rag on Sofia Coppola a lot, and they're right to, but her scenes actually managed to entertain me because I was often able to laugh at them.

Enzo Robutti on the other hand gives an annoyingly over-the-top performance as Don Lucchesi. Andy Garcia was decent, but there were points where I wanted him to emote a bit more than he did. Joe Mantegna was sort of laughable.

I was unable to take Joey Zasa's character seriously, as he came across as mostly pathetic and slimy, as well as weak and quivering. To be fair however, that may have been the goal, and if it was, then I suppose I can't rag on Mantegna too much.

Don Antobello was played rather well throughout the film, but his death scene was frankly embarrassing to watch. Finally, Al Pacino himself. I have no issue with Michael Corleone being portrayed differently in this film than he was in the previous films, as it has been years since the events of Part 2.

But far too often I feel as though I'm watching Al Pacino's character in Heat rather than Michael Corleone. Moving on, the film generally has a sense of disengagement, as if there isn't a ton of care or passion being put into it.

I say this because of how cheesy and ham-fisted certain scenes are, such as the helicopter massacre, Don Lucchesi being stabbed with his glasses, or that part where the assassin props up a guard's body to make it appear as though he is being strangled (seriously, did you even **** give a **** Francis?).

Despite all the negativity I've been putting forth thus far, this movie isn't necessarily awful. Diane Keaton gives a really good performance, especially during the film's finale. There is some good cinematography in the film's latter half, and the set design, lighting, and costuming is all done very well and gives the film a generally gorgeous look and color palette.

I also like the idea of a film revolving around Michael's attempt to atone for his sins, however I don't think that concept was executed especially well. Truthfully, while this is far from a dumpster fire, I'd be lying to you if I said that I had any desire to rewatch it.