Michael Corleone rise to Don Corleone

Rating: 9/10 (25 November 2012)

The Godfather Part II stands among and will be seen as one of the best sequels out there thanks to the wonderful pairing of two fine actors with Al Pacino as Michael Coeleone, putting up such masterful display of acting that makes you want to hail him from the screen as "The Godfather" and the other actor that was exceptional was Robert De Niro who played young Vito Corleone. The movie casting is one that will remain in the mind of film watchers for a long time.
The film depicts the different paths in which the Corleone family took, as Vito took the high road of peace during his regime; Michael took the path of violence and taking all his enemies out the moment they show their face, to the point that no matter whom there were, friend or family you cross Michael you are dead.
Partially based on Mario Puzo's 1969 novel, The Godfather, this 1974 sequel is in part both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather movie released in 1972. The movie features two parallel dramas, one focusing on Michael Corleone's reign and him trying to gain control of the family business, the other story is based on flash backs of how Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro), rose from his childhood in Sicily Italy in 1901 to his coming to America and the founding of the Corleone family.
The plot shows how Michael was looking into expanding his family business to Las Vegas and Cuba. During the process, an attempt on his life was made, and the person behind it was someone close to him, this led to Michael taking out more people. Michael's ruthless behaviour affected his family and trusted friends.
Being the first film to have part II in its name, The Godfather part II was a box office success and it received critical acclaim as one of the best films ever made. The production had some production problems initially when Pacino not wanting to be part of it because he felt the script wasn't OK enough, so Coppola had to re-write it, before Pacino came on board.
The American Film Institute's 10th anniversary of greatest films has the movie rated number 32, and its ranked 3rd in IMDb's Top 100 Movies of all time, with its predecessor The Godfather ranked 2nd. It also got 11 Academy Awards nominations and it won Best Picture for that year. Out of the 11 nominations it won six Oscars which included Best Director for Francis Ford Coppola, Best Supporting Actor for Robert De Niro and Best Adapted Screenplay for Coppola and Puzo.
Al Pacino got a nomination for Best Actor but didn't win although in the BAFTA Award he won the Best Actor award for the film.
The Godfather part II is a classic sequel to one of the best films ever made, so there is no need to see the first if you are not planning of crowning it with the second.
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