Dull and Predictable

Rating: Null/10 (8 July 1999)

I hate being the lone voice of searing ridicule in a throng of glowing adulation, but I must say that I found the Godfather: Part II to be dull, predictable and pointless. The Godfather is a wonderful film with a compelling story arch of a good American war hero being pulled into the depths of organized crime due to his loyalty to family. While Part II makes an attempt to elaborate and deepen this theme it does very little to bring anything new to it. Michael's loss of his family and the fate of his brother Fredo is obvious by the end of the first reel. Such a predictable plot undermines what would otherwise be an interesting sequel to a great film. Only the flashback scenes with Robert DeNiro as a young Vito Corleone has any of the emotion and energy of the original Godfather. If only the rest of the film was written and directed with such flair. I was so disappointed by The Godfather: Part II that I haven't even bothered to see Part III and I have little interest in Coppola's other work to this day.