Some touching moments, some over the top

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2010)

The Godfather Part II is an overall better experience than Part I mainly because of Robert De Niro's charismatic presence in the flashback scenes. Otherwise, the film has several unresolved twists and forced situations, which keep lingering even after it ends.
Michael (Pacino) is almost a psychic man who can read tiny almost invisible cues and understands what is in the future from mere observation of other's interactions. He plans ahead of everyone double his age, and removes hurdles from his path often before they are exposed. With the help of Tom (Duvall) he plans murders and defamation (senator in the brothel) and evades legal committees with unusual ease and adeptness which seemed pretty unreal.
Same goes for Vito's first murder, it was rather coincidental that Fanucci's family was absent on that day, and Vito's gunshot noise was exactly timed to be masked by the firecrackers, even when Fanucci clearly saw his assassin and could have counter attacked if the shooting was late by seconds. Or when Vito murders Ciccio, how his knife travels across the ribs, and how can he escape so easily from Ciccio's own house with a wounded gunman on the back of his car.
The movie lacks reality in several places, but there are some touching scenes like the flashback with the brothers during the end, or how baby Sonny cries on the rug that his father robbed for the first time. Or when Vito thanks his employer and refuses the gifts and comes back home to his wife after getting fired, and of course the strong sepia tone all over, which make this film stand out from the rest.
But I am sure, real life gangsters should not be so lucky as Michael or Vito Corleone were in this film.