Simply the greatest

Rating: 10/10 (29 July 2001)

I've lost count of the number of times I've watched this film in awe rewinding the vcr to catch scenes again. It is one of the few films ever to have made an indelible mark on popular culture with it's script even being referenced in the tv mafia drama "The Sopranos". Al Pacino's performance is unbelievable emanating the coldness of death that is alluded to in the novel. Pacino is able to build upon the script to make Michael Corleone one of the greatest characters ever seen on celluloid. His performance alone is worth watching by itself. Michael's ascent to the top of the mafia in America and his descent in his family is the essence of this film. Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall are excellent with John Cazale giving notice of his immense talent which was tragically never fully realised due to his premature death through illness. The script is itself magnificent particularly where Michael and Fredo are together in the family home, Hyman Roth's (Lee Strasberg) speech on "who gave the order" and Vito Corleone's (Robert De Niro) apparent first use of "make him an offer he can't refuse". The script helps to make this film the natural completion of the "Godfather" saga. The third film is an irrelevance in the company of two of the greatest film's ever made as it is only average. There may never be a better film made or story written as "The Godfather Part II".