MoltenThought Film Festival: "The Godfather Part II"
The Film Festival featuring the best films of all time continued last night with Francis Ford Coppola's magnum opus "The Godfather Part II". This sequel continues the saga of the Sicilian Mafia organization The Corleone Family, interspersed with flashbacks of how Don Vito Corleone came to be a New York mob bigwig.
It is inferior in every way to the first film, in my estimation. It is too long, and, unlike the original, an hour could easily have been shaved out (for example, the flashback to Sonny Corleone preparing the family for Don Corleone's birthday on Pearl Harbor day, which seems to exist only to bring back James Caan).
While some scenes are riveting, and the performances strong(particularly Robert Duvall as the conflicted lawyer friend of the Corleones), there is no character arc as strong as Michael Corleone's (Al Pacino's) was in the first movie. Michael is already corrupt here, already committed to doing whatever is necessary to hold the reins of power. He is less compelling as a result, and yet the movie remains focused upon him.
The flashback scenes to Vito Corleone's life are interesting, yet on the whole do not add to the main narrative. Indeed, this epic could have been two movies, and perhaps had greater impact.
The film is beautifully shot, and shifts effortlessly between the early and middle portions of the century and between Sicily, New York, Miami, Cuba, and Las Nevada.
On the whole, I am a bit disappointed with "The Godfather Part II", as it has nowhere near the impact of the first film, nor is it as well-crafted. Francis Ford Coppola seems to have given in to excess here.
That said, it is still a worthwhile film to watch, particularly if you're a fan of the original.
Recommended.
It is inferior in every way to the first film, in my estimation. It is too long, and, unlike the original, an hour could easily have been shaved out (for example, the flashback to Sonny Corleone preparing the family for Don Corleone's birthday on Pearl Harbor day, which seems to exist only to bring back James Caan).
While some scenes are riveting, and the performances strong(particularly Robert Duvall as the conflicted lawyer friend of the Corleones), there is no character arc as strong as Michael Corleone's (Al Pacino's) was in the first movie. Michael is already corrupt here, already committed to doing whatever is necessary to hold the reins of power. He is less compelling as a result, and yet the movie remains focused upon him.
The flashback scenes to Vito Corleone's life are interesting, yet on the whole do not add to the main narrative. Indeed, this epic could have been two movies, and perhaps had greater impact.
The film is beautifully shot, and shifts effortlessly between the early and middle portions of the century and between Sicily, New York, Miami, Cuba, and Las Nevada.
On the whole, I am a bit disappointed with "The Godfather Part II", as it has nowhere near the impact of the first film, nor is it as well-crafted. Francis Ford Coppola seems to have given in to excess here.
That said, it is still a worthwhile film to watch, particularly if you're a fan of the original.
Recommended.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home