An enjoyable, and grandly epic, sequel...one of the best

Rating: Null/10 (28 September 2003)

Over the years, I have had an unusual history of often seeing important movie sequels before their predecessors. This is by no means intentional - merely bad timing. For a long time, this viewing pattern has occurred, oddly enough, with a few films that are considered among the greatest sequels ever made ("Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back", "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"). I can add a new title to that list: "The Godfather - Part II". Yes, I must confess, I STILL have not yet seen the original 1972 crime classic about the beloved mafia family - but I'm sure I'll get around to it someday soon. I've seen PARTS of it here and there, anyway...and this epic, Oscar-winning sequel didn't surprise me in making me think of it as most likely superior to the first one (and certainly FAR superior to the third one in 1990, which I heard was a bit of a clunker, unfortunately).
In any case, this is truly one of the finest FILMS, not just sequels, I have ever seen, with a scope and power that very few other pictures can rival, quite frankly. I was blown away by much of the virtuoso performances from most of the actors - of course singling out Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as the most amazing ones, especially De Niro.
A masterpiece of storytelling, beautifully directed and told. Unforgettable.