overly reverential follow-up

Rating: 6/10 (7 October 2008)

'The Godfather Part III' suffers from a bad case of wishing it was either 'The Godfather' or 'The Godfather Pt. II'. You'll lose count of all the situations, scenes, ideas, and lines of dialogue that are lifted either in part or in whole from the two earlier films. It's almost as if Francis Ford Coppola feels it necessary to constantly remind the audience that this is in fact a 'Godfather' film, rather than just getting on with it. The film is generally good enough to stand on its own, though it does suffer in comparison in many ways. Al Pacino has a hard time getting inside the character of Michael Corleone again. He makes a half-hearted attempt to act old, but it's never terribly convincing. His supporting cast is much weaker than in either of the other two, partially because of new faces brought in, such as (usually) reliable Eli Wallach as an aged Mafia boss. His performance is only adequate, and then there is Sofia Coppola as Michael's daughter, Mary. Her acting is more on a level with your average teen flick and at times is hard to watch. For reasons that never seem very clear or worthwhile, Diane Keaton is brought back as Kay in what could be called an extended cameo. Her scenes with Pacino are not satisfying either; Michael is courteous and flattering, suggesting they could be together again. Kay basically tells him what a slimeball he is and that she loathes him. Speaking of lifted scenes, there's one in 'Part III' that could almost be considered a 'response' to one in the original movie, where Kay watches Michael assuming the role of the Don and sees the door shut, symbolizing her being shut out of that part of his life. Here, in 'Godfather III', there is a scene where Michael and Kay almost achieve a kind of rapprochement when Michael is suddenly called into the next room to handle some dirty Mafia business. In what might be called 'Kay's Revenge', this time it is she who walks slowly out of camera view, in effect 'closing the door' behind her. Most of their exchanges though are simply rehashes of things said in the second film. There are so many lines lifted from the first two Godfathers, the effect borders on parody at times. "Never tell anyone outside the family what you're thinking." "Today, all Corleone family business will be settled." 'Part III' is so reverential and referential to those works, it's almost like one long homage to them. Another character from them, Connie, appears at odd moments like a ghost from the past, long enough to express concern for Michael and the family, a kind of melancholy loyalty, then she disappears again. Sonny Corleone's son, Vincent, is played by Andy Garcia and is the one character to bring some urgently needed kick and vitality to the film. Like his father, Vincent is a hot-head, a 'shoot first and ask questions later' kind of guy. He wants to solve the family's problems the way they USED to and of course Michael has spent almost his whole life moving away from the mob style of doing things and making the Corleone family legitimate. The plot itself has to do with various intrigues, financial and otherwise, at the Vatican and Michael becoming involved with some unsavory types who, shall we say, do not have his best interests at heart. 'The Godfather, Pt. III' is a good film, not a great one, one that certainly goes out of its way to remind us what masterpieces the first and second 'Godfather' films were.