Not as good as the original, but still a great crime film

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 2009)

My opinions on this movie are a bit mixed. The opening for the film was brilliant as it delves into the early life of Vito Corleone and then flash-forwards to the story of his son Michael Corleone following the events of The Godfather (1972). It was all interesting up until it started faltering during the lengthy middle portion of the film, when Michael travels around to various different places meeting different underworld figures. The pacing and editing was quite bad during the middle portion, so much so that I even found it somewhat boring to watch. It could have been better if Francis Ford Coppola was willing to trim some bits here and there during the middle portion. Nevertheless, the final portion of the film was back on track and largely made up for the weak middle portion. Like the original Godfather, the last 80 minutes of The Godfather Part II were very gripping and moving, with the ending probably being even more powerful than that of the original. The film had the potential to be just as good as, if not better than, the original Godfather if only if it wasn't for the overall inconsistency and the weak middle portion of the film.
As for the performances, Al Pacino was again brilliant as Michael Corleone, while Robert De Niro was also very believable as a young Vito Corleone. The other cast members were also impressive, with some of the more minor characters from the first film, like John Cazale (as Fredo Corleone) and Diane Keaton (as Kay), getting more major roles this time around. Although I have criticized this film quite a bit, those criticisms are only relative to its predecessor, as The Godfather Part II is still quite easily among the greatest crime films of all time in its own right.
9/10