Review of The Godfather Part III (1990) by Nick O — 15 Apr 2011

I read an article in the New Yorker not too long ago discussing the idiosyncrasies of modern verbal sentence structure. How the hum of our "um's" and "well's" shape the tone of our answers or opinions before the actual wisecrack has even yet to begin. Maybe that's where the vital mistake of the third installation in Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo's tracking of the Corleone crime family lies (or, at least, why it was nominated for seven Oscars), natch, "The Godfather: Part III". The writers each have obvious gifts for unique consummate styles, and whoa baby, has this trilogy been packed with some of the cutting-edge best.

But that's just it -- it's framed only by exposition. "Part III" lacks the moral wit and enchantment of its two masterful predecessors, and feels unseemly in the otherwise directional trajectory that the other films pieced together so well. "The Godfather: Part III" serves best as a series of bullet points, and no one pulls the trigger with quite such ghostly distinction as Al Pacino. Returning in the role of Corleone's patriarch Michael, he here juggles his son's out-of-towner dreams; broken deals with the Vatican; battles with ex-wife Kay (Diane Keaton); and pressure of showing age in a business where young blood is the first thing on everyone's mind. On top of that, his daughter Mary's (Sofia Coppola, of the director's kin) been bitten by the love bug over her dad's dead brother's kid Vincent (Andy Garcia), who turns out has mobster ambitions of his own. Still, the movie is missing a certain authoritative presence. It's a great ride, and definitely worth checking out, but it goes down too easy.