It isn't a bad nor is it "an offer that can't be refused"

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2008)

I love the first two "Godfathers", but this one did not have the caliber of the first two. There are things that make this movie feel like a "Godfather" but there are also things that don't.
Starting with the good, I found the plot to be very interesting. More than twenty years after where the second Godfather left off, Michael Corleone seeks to make his family legitimate by buying up part of the organizations in the Vatican. Things don't go as he had planned and once again he is pulled back in to fight off new foes and reinstate his family in the mafia with the help of a young protégé that loves his daughter.
It sounds pretty good, but much of the old cast is gone from the original two films. It would make sense for some of their characters to die off over more than a twenty year range, but many of the new faces aren't competent, particularly Sofia Coppola. I can understand Francis Ford Coppola would want his daughter in production to start her career. She's good-looking but she is bland and uneventful.
Eli Wallach seemed to enjoy himself as Don Altobello, the clever backstabber. Joe Mantgena as Joey Zasa was all right, I guess, but he gets killed off before he even gets a chance to develop his character. I have to add that, none of the Corleone family's enemies are developed, nor are their motives clear for why they want to kill Michael. This may have been intended since greed is a common thing that drives many people, but is there anything else? The film seemed to focus on what gruesome death the other mob bosses get rather than explain their characters' motives.
Talia Shire was a nice addition to the film. Her character has changed from the abused wife in Part I, to the pitiful widow in Part II, and to a cunning mastermind in this one. She's one of the few well-developed characters.
Of all the Godfathers, this one has my favorite performance by Al Pacino. His character was youthful and cunning in the first two but now he is an old man that is haunted by his past demons and wants forgiveness from the things he has done as a mob boss. His silent scream at the end of the film is priceless and moving. I'm surprised he did not an Oscar nom for his performance.
Andy Garcia was also great as Sonny's hotheaded son Vincent, who later becomes Michael's protégé. But what disturbed me was the unwanted development of his lust for Michael's daughter. Incest is something I don't look forward to in a mob film, particularly a Godfather.
Like the first two films, it has beautiful production design, costumes, and grim cinematography. It has the original score that Nino Rota composed wonderfully for the Godfather Part I & II but unfortunately Nino died before this one was in the making. So a new composer takes his place and adds some music to it that makes the film feel hokey. The music reminds me of something that would be in a cheap soap opera. It gets too dramatic in a scene of suspense and too melancholy at an emotional part.
It isn't a bad nor is it "an offer that can't be refused". 7/10