Rather Amazing How Perfect This Turned Out

Rating: Null/10 (3 May 2012)

The Godfather Part II (1974)
**** (out of 4)
Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece shows the early life of Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro) who tries to rise in power and seek revenge after his parents are murdered. In the current times, Michael (Al Pacino) survives an assassination attempt and goes to find out who was behind it as well as destroy anyone who might be trying to do the family any harm. There's always going to be a debate on whether this film or the first is the best but for my money I have to hand it to this sequel. While both movies are great, I think this one works so well for numerous reasons but the biggest being that not only is a great sequel by continuing the events of the first film but it's also a great prequel by showing the life of Vito.
I've always had a few minor problems with the original movie but I think it would be fair to say that this one here is flawless in every way. Coppola does such a masterful job at making sure everything was on par with the original but you can tell he knew people were going to be questioning him attempting to do a sequel so he wanted to make sure that he delivered even more. As with the first film, this one here has that very slow pace that wouldn't be allowed in any movie today but thankfully the 70s were a much different time. Coppola perfectly uses this slower pacing to really get inside the heads of these people and he really delivers so much character development that you're amazed that so much is able to be done in its epic 200-minute running time. Even more amazing is how quickly the film flies by, which is saying a lot of consider the length and pace.
Of course, no one could ever say a negative thing about the performances and they're all masterful. I had really forgotten how wonderful Pacino was here but he's so chilling, cold and deadly quiet that you really do begin to fear him. I'm certainly not going to spoil anything but if you've seen the movie then you know what happens at the end and how Pacino plays this was just a masterful touch. DeNiro, picking up his first Oscar, does a wonderful job too. Doing the Italian language and mastering is obviously impressive but so are the small touches that he brings that connects the character to the later one played by Marlon Brando in the previous film. John Cazale is often overlooked but he has some terrific moments here as does Talia Shire, Robert Duvall and especially Diane Keaton.
THE GODFATHER PART II contains all the greatness of the first film and it's a real miracle that Coppola was able to match it and deliver even more. The film works on so many levels but being able to pretty much see two movies rolled into one is something of a lost art. Even rarer is how perfectly both parts are as the drama, tension, violence and pain are all on full display and there's no question that this film deserves its reputation as one of the greatest ever made.