Weakest of the three, but still brilliant.

Rating: 8/10 (28 October 2003)

It really says something about a film when, even when it's the weakest of a trilogy, still manages to be a fantastic film too. While The Godfather Part III doesn't manage to scale the heights of the first two films, this still manages to be a powerful film and brings the story of the Corleone dynasty to a gut wrenching conclusion. The continuation of Michael's story, this time as an older man whose life has moved on to new areas since the second film has a lot to recommend it and it is truly not the disaster that many claimed it was when first released. The central performance of Al Pacino is extraordinary. Filmed in 1990, just when every other Pacino performance was all about screaming and shouting dialog, here he manages restraint as a man burdened with the guilty conscious of ordering the execution of his own brother, a piece of character development that leads to a brilliant moment where Pacino confesses his sins. Pacino's performance here is one of his best in his latter day career when every line of dialog he utters in any other film tends to be said with the volume turned up, but here he brings back that wonderful quality he had during the first two films as well as his career in the 70's.
The rest of the cast is a highly mixed affair. Andy Garcia joins the cast as Vincent Corleone, the illegitimate son of Sonny and is superb. How his acting career floundered after this film is quite strange, but he settles into his character fantastically here. Good looking in the same way Pacino and De Niro were (sun tanned skin and thick dark hair), he looks the part and plays it fantastically. Being the son of Sonny the character has a fiery temper and Garcia plays it with the relish you would expect. When it comes to the romance with Michael's daughter, Garcia brings more of a Pacino/De Niro sensitivity to part, making it a wonderful hybrid of a performance that is fantastic to watch. Diane Keaton, once again, is superb as Kay and her scenes with Pacino are once again some of the highlights of the film. So, what makes the casting more mixed this time around? Well Sofia Coppola is the biggest weak link here. Looks wise she doesn't look like Pacino or Keaton and her acting ability is adequate at best. Original choice was Winona Ryder and it makes one quick to point out she would have been a better choice. Then there's George Hamilton as Michael's new lawyer, Tom Hagen having died off screen at some point. His performance is not bad, but he looks out of place in a film like this.
In saying that, the script from Coppola and Puzo is once again marvelous, Coppola's direction is as assured as one would expect and the conclusion is shocking and downbeat. The fact that Michael dies alone gives the ending to the trilogy a very poignant and sad tone, more or less confirming that he was doomed to failure no matter what he tried to do with his life, his family and his business.
This is still a fantastic film and makes this, overall, a superb trilogy.