The Godfather Part II

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2019)

Two years later after the initial release of the masterpiece that redefined cinema for the good, writer-director Francis Ford Coopla wanted a sequel that would outdo the original. For this purpose alone, when the film was released Christmas Day 1974, the movie was moderately successful and soon became a modern day epic and the best sequel Hollywood has ever produced. Without further ado, here's my review of the second chapter of the The Corleone Family legacy, The Godfather, Part II.
The opening shot of the film tells us what happened directly after the first film's closing moments. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is now Don and Godfather of the Corleone Family. Setting the family business in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Michael's promise to keep the family completely legitimate, selling interests in hotels and casinos throughout the States and in Cuba. As this is going down, and Michael is facing unexpected consequences and family life in every turn, the movie brilliantly flashbacks into the young life of Michael's father, young Vito Corleone (in an Oscar-winning performance from Robert De Niro) from his childhood to early adulthood in Hell's Kitchen, succeeding himself as a Don with an offer he couldn't refuse and is introduced to the criminal underworld.
I saw The Godfather, Part II the day after I saw the first one. It's more longer than the first, but it was very necessary. The acting here is a lot more complex than its processor. Pacino gives one of the most brilliant performances of his career as a flawed and evil man trying to make his family legitimately the best in the crime world. De Niro gives his second best career work (the first being Scorsese's Raging Bull.) The scenery here is gorgeously crafted filmed in several different locations including New York, Cuba, Lake Tahoe and Sicily. Each frame is a work of art at its highest level. The storytelling is perfect, mixing in past and present, as we go along.
The magic of these two timeless films are the heart and soul of moviemaking. Coppola directs with such vivid imagery that it's no surprise that this also would win Best Picture. Both films rightly deserved to win no matter what.
In conclusion, The Godfather, Part II is one of the best sequels ever made and not to be missed. I highly recommend this one and the first movie. This is certainly an offer you can't refuse.
10/10