Review of The Godfather Part III (1990) by Stuart M — 18 Jul 2014

Definitely the weakest of the bunch, it features Pacino being pure Pacino instead of losing himself in the role the way he had previously. Most of the remaining cast is new which further distances this film from the others. This film features an older, semi-retired Michael Corleone as he tries to find his way to some form of redemption. This is an obvious direction to go in although I feel like they didn't take advantage of the opportunity as much as I would have liked. I enjoyed aspects of this quest, the fact that Michael feels guilty but not particularly regretful about his actions was a nice touch, but on the whole it was both underdeveloped and overexplored. As nice as it was seeing a complete bastard seek forgiveness for the unforgivable I never really felt that this was the same Michael Corleone that we'd seen for two movies previously.

Sofia Coppola has frequently been lambasted for her performance as Michael's daughter, but while she isn't good she isn't ultimately that important. A more serious loss is Robert Duvall, whose informed advice would have been most useful to hear. As I said before, after giving a nicely restrained performance twice before Al Pacino succumbs to his tendency to chew scenery and seems to have abandoned Michael's dignity and restrained withdrawnness. Some of the plot points are not what you'd expect from a Godfather movie while others are over the top and feature excessive filmmaking that seems directly contrary to the restrained and low key style of the previous two. For example, the scene where a group of gangsters gets taken out by a helicopter feels like it comes from some action film and not a crime drama.

Choosing to set so much of the film in Sicily is an odd choice too as it quickly becomes Michael and Kay wandering through scenic cities. And I didn't really follow what the appointment of a new Pope had to do with anything. It seemed a really random direction to go. The ending is decent and sees Michael suffering without ever really feeling like he has paid for all his sins.