The Parallel Story of Don Vito Corleone And Michael Corleone

Rating: 10/10 (4 September 2017)

After "The Godfather" became the most commercially and critically successful film when it was released back in 1972, a sequel or better yet a companion film to it was released known as "The Godfather Part II".Robert De Niro and Al Pacino star as the young Vito Corleone and Michael respectively in this second Godfather film together with Robert Duvall,Diane Keaton,John Cazale,G.D Spradlin, and Lee Strasberg.
This film tells the story of Don Vito Corleone and his son Michael when both were of the same age with the former's story about his arrival in the United States coming from Sicily after his parents and older brother were killed as well as the rise of the Corleone crime family in the 1920's and latter's story with regards to the Corleone empire's expansion in its gambling operations during the 1950's as well as the deterioration of his character as he deals with the other rival mob bosses particularly Frank Pentangeli and Hyman Roth.
While the film maybe considered a sequel to the first film,I consider it more of a companion film of part I.In it,we get to know how Don Vito came into power as a mob boss when he killed Don Fanucci and a background story of how violence came early into his life when a local Sicilian mob boss killed his parents and older brother Paolo.We also get a better understanding how he transformed from being a worker of the Abandando Bakery into a criminal life in the mob.We also see how Michael was able to increase the success of the Corleone family and how more ruthless he has become when he ordered the death of his enemies that included his older brother Fredo.Added to that,we also see how Michael was able to outwit the U.S. Senate on their investigation.The story was told in parallel and I believe that the film provided the viewer a great story just like the first film.No question that director Francis Ford Coppola and novel's author Mario Puzo wrote a great screenplay together. Aside from the story,we also get to witness great performances from the cast.Al Pacino definitely did justice to the role of Michael which made him get an Oscar nomination while Robert DeNiro did a masterful job as the young Vito which earned him his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.Added to that,we also see credible performances from the other members of the cast such as DuVall,Keaton,Cazale, and Strasberg. With all these things mentioned,it is no question that part II is indeed a classic and a masterpiece just like the first film.That is why it continues to be popular for the last 43 years since it was first released in theaters.