Disturbing finale to a brilliant trilogy

Rating: 7/10 (25 November 2009)

I was not happy with how they aged Al Pacino for this role. But that is the besides the point, it doesn't take away from what is a very good ending to the trilogy.
Although some complain that Coppola's direction is vastly contrasted to the previous two movies, I didn't feel that affected the movie in a negative way.
Michael Corleone is now old and his business is finally 'legitimate'. However, there are obstacles in his path to purging himself of past sins, and his confession to a priest about how he murdered his brother is highly symbolic of how that one act has haunted him till now and is something he will always regret.
I loved how this movie picked up from the devastating murder of Fredo in part II and emphasized how Michael wishes to seek repentance for this act. However, a negative in this movie is the character of Kay and how she reappears in Michael's life and he seems eager to seek her forgiveness and profess how he has always cared for her. What I found even more incredulous was how she claims she has always loved him! After her murder of his child in part II I found this not in-keeping with her character development by the end of that movie. Equally ludicrous is how Michael has changed towards her and seeks her approval even now. It is sad because it shows us how alone he really is yet it isn't in-keeping with the Michael we saw in part II.
The devastatingly poignant ending where Mary is shot is the final bullet to Michael's heart and he dies alone. I wasn't happy with this ending but somehow I suppose it fit. Mary couldn't have the love of the cousin who loved her back because his destiny is to take over from Michael as the new Don. So her death seems the only solution as we know she will not be able to live without her cousin reciprocating her love. Vincent, her cousin, is the bastard child of Michael's elder brother Sonny and somehow I doubt his ability to succeed Michael successfully. But we will never know how that turned out...
All in all a must-see for die-hard Godfather fans. This movie includes flashbacks to Fredo's murder and Michael's first marriage. Yet the real story here is about Michael's relationship with his family and in true movie-hero-villain style his downfall into a lonely broken-hearted death, in much the way as Tony Montana in Scarface ended up.