Perfect! A Landmark in film-making; Coppola's true masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2005)

I fell in love with "The Godfather Part II" the first time I saw it! And why not? No other movie that runs for a whopping 200 minutes, has held my interest like this one has! There is not a single wasted moment in this long running time. And what's more..it has my most favourite actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro starring in it! Words are not enough to describe this great film, and as has rightly been said by many: to call it a sequel is an insult! This is yet another movie that gets better each time you see it.
The Godfather Part II tells parallel stories of young Vito Corleone's early life and his son Michael's reign as Don Corleone. The contrast in the two eras has been shown beautifully. The colours used, the sets, the overall feel...everything has been shown to such fine detail, that it becomes impossible to even try and find a flaw in this film! The most important thing to mention here is that the flashback scenes of Vito's life appear at very apt moments! They are not placed haphazardly. Careful attention has been given to their placement, so that they fit beautifully in the present narrative of Michael Corleone.
Robert De Niro delivers a mind-blowing performance as the young Vito. He has uncannily managed to look and behave exactly like the young Vito Corleone would (given Brando's depiction of the same character in the first movie). In some scenes it actually feels as if we are watching a young Brando portraying Vito Corleone! Al Pacino is stunning as the cold, ruthless, brooding Michael Corleone! He manages to express so much through his eyes, its almost eerie! John Cazale as Fredo has a lot to do in this movie and he pulls it off wonderfully. Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen does complete justice to his role yet again! Other performances worth a very special mention include: Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth, Michael V. Gazzo as Frank Pentangeli, Gaston Moschin as Don Fanucci and G.D. Spradlin as Senator Geary.
Diane Keaton is better in this movie than in the first as Kay; Talia Shire as Connie is adequate.
Also, special mention about the choice of actors playing the young Tessio and young Clemenza (John Aprea and Bruno Kirby respectively); they actually bear an uncanny resemblance to the older actors playing these same parts in Part I.
The cinematography, needless to say, is amazing! The sepia tone makes the film appear like a beautiful painting.... The score: once again, a class apart!
This is one "sequel" that truly surpasses the original! I try not to call it a sequel as far as possible, because the word "sequel" simply doesn't fit! "The Godfather Part II" is an offer that no one should/can ever refuse!! To do so would quite simply be a "crime".....