A great movie, far better than what I expected

Rating: 7/10 (4 April 2002)

I must admit I came into this movie expecting the worst, as person after person has told me that this movie, while decent, doesn't compare to the first two. So I was pleasantly surprised to find myself disagreeing with them.
I enjoyed this movie even more than Godfather II, although I admit it doesn't approach the first film... but then again, so few things do. I thought that both Vincent and Anthony Corleone were superbly cast, not only for their acting, but for the fact that Vincent looks SO much like a young Michael and Anthony looks even more like Sonny.
*Spoiler Start*
The movie includes many great scenes, such as when Michael tells Vincent that he may now call himself a Corleone, and his men gather around a sitting Vincent, kissing his hand and calling him "Don Corleone", the same way they did to Michael at the end of the first film. I particularly loved the scene where Michael, seeking to repent for his sins, swears on the lives of his children that if God gives him the chance, he will not sin again... yet no more than 5 minutes later, he gives Vincent the order to carry out the murder of several men. He swore on the lives of his children.. and that's what he ends up losing.
*Spoiler End*
It's a true shame that Sofia Coppola had to be in this movie. I am not a person that likes to nitpick the nuances of every acting performance, but she is simply a horrible actress. It's particularly a shame because she does a lot to spoil the climax scene of the movie, which should be particularly dramatic. Thankfully, she doesn't have all that many lines, and at least looks good.
Unlike Godfather II, which, while a very good film, I found to be rather disjointed and difficult to follow (the Young Vito storyline seemed too slow and drawn out, while the Michael storyline moved so quickly that I, at times, wasn't sure what exactly was going on), this installment follows a similar plot line to the first movie, right down to the multiple executions at the end, set to a Sicilian opera instead of the words of an Italian priest. The simplicity and flow of the stories in I and III made them all the more engrossing to me.