A disappointing finale to a great saga.

Rating: 7/10 (11 October 2000)

As a huge fan of the first 2 movies, I was disappointed with Francis Ford Coppola's final chapter. Events surrounding the production of the movie doomed this picture to be a letdown from the start. Director Francis Ford Coppola cast his own daughter, Sofia, to play the part of Michael Corleone's daughter since Winona Ryder had backed out due to an illness. Ms. Coppola's performance was laughable at best. You would think that Mr. Coppola would have at least paid for some acting lessons. My other problem with this movie is that Robert Duvall was missing in his role as Tom Hagen, family consigliere. Mr. Duvall wanted way too much money which was rightly deserved. I couldn't get used to seeing a sun-baked George Hamilton advise the family. It's a shame that all this overshadowed great performances by Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, and Joe Mantegna as Joey Zaza, but it did. I would've enjoyed seeing Andy Garcia reprise his role as Don Vincenzo Corleone in a fourth installment but now that screenwriter/author Mario Puzo has so dearly departed us, we may be stuck with this disappointing third and final picture as our only memory of his legacy.