A great film with some minor, yet pivotal flaws.

Rating: Null/10 (7 April 2001)

`Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in,' exclaims an exasperated Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) after learning that his family was lured back into the tangled web of the mafia. It was now 1979 and the Corleone family had been legitimate for several years until they were forced to regain their status as an active mafia family, due to the fear of Michael being assassinated. Director Francis Ford Coppola's saga of the Corleone crime family is brought to a close in this film, The Godfather Part III. In this final installment, Coppola explores an aging Michael, who comes to terms with the wrong he has incurred upon his loved ones and even himself. It also profiles how Michael steps down as the Godfather and hands his reign to Sonny's illegitimate son, Vincent (Andy Garcia). The film also contrasts with the others in terms of Michael and his wife, Kay (Diane Keaton) renewing their relationship and Michael giving up his role as Godfather .
In The Godfather Part II, the once strong bond between Michael and Kay was shattered. Michael had alienated her from his personal life and Kay had rebelled against everything that he had stood for. He took their children away and completely (both emotionally and literally) shut her out of his life. In Part III, they slowly regained some of their bond after they had been divorced (and Kay remarried) for several years. For example, when their son Anthony decided that he wants nothing to do with `the family' and that he wants to quit law school and become an opera singer, Kay goes to Michael to discuss that she wants to let him do this. Michael initially disagrees, but then gives his support because he sees how promising his career is (he was invited to sing at a prestigious Sicilian opera house), that he is very passionate about singing and that his not wanting to be in the family echoed what Michael's original plan was. Kay thanked him profusely for this, and strengthened their bond. Also, after learning that his family was once again involved in the mob, Michael had a diabetic stroke and was ultimately hospitalized. When Kay visited him, she remarked that that was the only time when he appeared helpless to her, and less of a threat as he was in the other parts of the saga. They identified more with each other at this time, and it made Kay realize that he wasn't as bad as she had originally thought. Lastly, their bond was strengthened when they united in Sicily to see their son perform. As Kay got into a cab, Michael, disguised as a cab driver, turned around with a friendly `Bonjourno' and gave Kay an insider's tour of his homeland, Sicily. He did this without his usual entourage of bodyguards, and at a time when his life was on the line, this was a great risk made merely to pleasure Kay. Later in his room, they revealed to each other that they always loved each other and Michael revealed that the worst mistake he made in life was letting her go. He came to terms with his existence and tried to mend what was still salvageable in their relationship.

The Godfather told the story of Michael's ascension into the role of Godfather after his father Vito died. Directly parallel was the story told in the third installment, when Michael gave up his role as Godfather. He was growing older and was a diabetic, and was also disgusted with the life that he had led for a great deal of years. He saw Vincent as a vital and loyal member of his family who was able to run the family. The story told in part three, in my opinion, was a too obvious vehicle of making Michael's position parallel to Vito's and did not have the emotional impact equal to that in part one. Vincent was a one-dimensional character, a combination of the best aspects of Michael and his brother Sonny, who, I think, did not prove himself worthy of being Michael's successor. However, Michael appreciated Vincent's undying loyalty to him and that he had the capacity to care for his family. Vincent's future position was way too obvious from the minute he walked onto the screen because he had no other purpose at Michael's party.

So was The Godfather Part III a mediocre end the perfect saga? I happen to think so. The basic plot line of Michael getting pulled back into the harsh world of the mafia was an intriguing one, but the details were hazy and the supporting characters were vague and one-dimensional. I consider myself to be an observant film viewer, but I found myself at times getting lost to why some of the details were taking place. The film lost a lot of integrity via the actors cast in pivotal roles. The worst actor in the film (possibly ever) was Sofia Coppola, who played Michael's daughter Mary Corelone. She had a very important role and basically deadpanned all of her lines. In her death scene, she simply flat-lined, `Daddy?' and collapsed. I felt bad for Michael, but couldn't help laughing at her horrifically bad performance. Another example of a bad actor in a pivotal role is George Hamilton, who played Michael's new lawyer, B.J. Harrison. He tried to replace Robert Duval's excellent performance as Tom Hagan, but failed miserably. Instead of being the rock that Michael could depend on, he ultimately became `the boring guy'. My least favorite part of the film was Mary's affair with her cousin, Vincent. Besides being poorly acted by Sofia, this was a pointless vehicle for Vincent to give her up to show his allegiance to Michael. Coppola (Francis Ford) should have found a better way to prove this because it was, quite frankly, sickening. There were many good points to the film as well. I found it satisfying that Michael came to terms with all of the crimes he had executed and that he was conscious of all the lives he had affected. I loved the way he patched his issues up with Kay and ultimately confessed that he never wanted to be Godfather in the first place. In part two, Coppola portrayed him as being relatively cold and unfeeling, but I enjoyed that in part three, we were reminded of his emotional core as portrayed in part one. I also liked that uncovered aspects of the previous films were touched upon, and that they were all cohesive. The third installment was created merely to bring closure to Godfather buffs. When compared to the other two, The Godfather Part III was in fact a mediocre movie and that fans and critics alike expected another brilliant masterpiece. When compared to any other film, it would be better than the rest.