The Godfather part 3

Rating: 8/10 (27 September 2011)

"this review may contain spoilers"
There is a bit of a story that led to the creation of this third film back in 1990.After the huge success of Godfathers 1 and 2,which both managed to win nine academy awards in total including best picture of 1972 and 1974, Coppola decided to call it a day.For 16 years Paramount pictures approached Coppola on numerous occasions with an offer to make a third chapter,but he always refused as he felt that the first two films had told the complete story of the Corleone family.It was for his delicate financial situation that compelled him to embark on a final trip with the mafioso family.So he accepted the offer.
the film is set in 1979 with an aging Michael Corleone(Al Pacino) now in his late 60's,wrecked with guilt for his past deeds,who is trying to legitimize the family.the movie sees Michaels involvement with the Vatican bank which has suffered a big loss of 700 million dollars.He decides to help by investing 600 million and by taking control of the Vaticans 25 percent interest in the Internazionale Immobiliare,the worlds biggest real estate company.Vincent Mancini(Andy Garcia),Michaels nephew and son of the late Santino Corleone,is one of the main characters in the movie.He starts off being his uncles bodyguard,gets slowly involved with the family business and then eventually becomes the new Godfather.There is also a love affair that takes place between Vincent and Michaels daughter Mary(Sophia Coppola).
The film didn't do so well at the box office and was considered by many a failure and a massive disappointment.It has to be said it wasn't Coppolas fault on how this film turned out.For a start Coppola and Puzo,wanted six months to write the script,but Paramount refused by giving them only six WEEKS. Now that is not much time to write a proper story for this kind of FILM. Paramount,at every cost, wanted this movie to be released on Christmas day 1990,Coppola was forced to rush in to production without a complete script.. so that explains the immense pressure that He and Puzo had on their shoulders to bring this long-awaited film to the big screen.
Godfather part 3 is not a bad film but it is neither a great one, it's just a good film nothing more.One of the main issues that is quite frustrating is the excessive use of the " black screen" that appears quite often in the first half of the movie. The black screen is a technique used at the end of a long cinematic sequence to notify the viewer that we are moving to a new topic or "better" material. Here this technique brings away the power of the scene because they already don't last long and then when it starts to generate momentum the screen goes black. This is a result of what you call a rush job.
Secondly another main problem is the Editing!! Scenes don't flow naturally together and we often jump from one topic to another far to quickly. The viewer can never properly get engaged with the movie!!!
Finally the script., in the first two Godfather movies the plot primarily focused upon the businesses in which the characters were involved in and how they managed to find a way out through violence, set ups, betrayal and convincing smart dialog. But most importantly they were constructed upon the strong atmosphere and well written scenes that made the first two pictures monumental. Here in part 3 the Vatican affairs and corruption world play second fiddle to the main theme which is Michael's seek for Redemption for his past deeds.It's not really a problem but the slow pace and the not so convincing overlooked dealings of Michael with the dons drag the film down a little.
Though the movie is flawed it still has some strengths that are worth discussing, the music is very good and and is one of the strong points of the movie,the production design and photography are nice and can't be faulted , Michaels confession with cardinale Lamberto and the Atlantic city wipe out leave an impression, the climatic ending that leads to Michael's scream over his daughter's death a very emotional finale that manages to put a tear in your eye and definitely is worth watching.
Does the Godfather part 3 bring the hole story to a satisfactory conclusion? Yes and no. We see what happens to Michael as that is the most important thing because at the end of the day this is a one man's trilogy. It's Michaels story, about his rise and fall. On the other hand though we don't know what happens to all the other characters such as Kay,Conny, Anthony but most importantly to the new boss of the Corleone family don Vincenzo Corleone. What happens after that tragic night, what happens to the family under his guidance? Does he do good or not? Is he the right man for the job? In what kind of activities does he drag the family into? All these points mentioned remain unfortunately in complete mystery and left to the viewers imagination. A fourth movie is necessary because it would bring the story to a conclusion Once and for all.
The Godfather part 3 is weak in comparison to its big brothers no doubt, but in its own right it does deliver.the movie should of turned out better with the kind of ambitious script it had and If Coppola had more time It would of been certainly a "Masterpiece". (Don't blame Coppola, blame paramount that denied the movie From being a classic)!!!!
I definitely recommend it because despite its shortcomings it does feel a godfather movie plus there are periods when It touches moments of brilliance and mostly it's part of the best trilogy ever made in Cinematic history.
"Just when you thought you was out,they pull you back in".
my vote:8/10