A masterful crime movie

Rating: 10/10 (12 April 2017)

Even though "The Godfather: Part II" isn't as good as the first "Godfather movie it is still one of the best mo movies ever made and is probably one of the best movie sequels ever done in all of movie history. The movie shifts back between the present day in the past but in the present the movie picks up where the first movie left off with Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in charge of the Corleone crime family while still having his family members along with him, his step brother Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), his older brother Fredo (John Cazale), as well as his younger sister Connie (Talia Shire). Also a new change was that he is married to his girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton) and had two children. Unlike most directors who have directed mob movies in the past Coppola shows a different side to the people in the mob than others like Michael Curtiz or Martin Scorsese who have also directed masterful mob movies, but the only difference is that Coppola shows a more dramatic side as well as Curtiz, but Scorsese shows a much grittier and evil side. The flashbacks in the movie talk about the early life and the immigration to America of none other than Michael's father Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro, whose dialogue is all Italian.) This movie isn't like any other sequel in any other franchise that I've ever seen because most franchises are for action/adventure type movies, but The Godfather series is the only popular crime franchise. However like the first Godfather movie this one is nearly as flawless as this one with a great story, great cast, excellent and very effective dialogue co-written by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo (who also wrote the novel), as well as excellent performances throughout. In this review i'll try not to spoil anything but some of the most effective scenes in the movie are where Kay divorces Michael, Vito exacts his revenge on the man who did his family harm, and where Michael doesn't love Fredo anymore. This was a great movie and it makes me much more eager to see part 3. Even though there were other great films in 1974 such as Roman Polanski's "Chinatown", and "The Conversation" which Coppola also directed, but this one tops them all. In other words, this is the best movie of 1974.