after sixteen years francis ford copolla has again returned to his favorite project , making the third installment in the godfather-trilogy . 
this new film has been underrated for no reason . 
it is as intellectual and majestically made as copolla's pervious films . 
it is also more psychological , pessimistic and more tragic than the first two . 
the only regret is the unconvincing performance by the newcomer sofia copolla and some " unfinished " developments of some characters . 
the film elegantly begins with nino rota's recognizable musical score , the beautiful skyscrapers of new york and michael's voice as he is writing a letter to his children : " the only wealth in this world is children . 
more than all money and power on earth , you are my treasure " . 
the year is 1979 and michael corleone has used the time since the ending of " part ii " to make his father's dream come true - making the corleone family legitimate . 
michael sold all his casinos and invests only in gambling . 
constantly haunted by the past , his only reason to live is his children . 
the family has amassed unimaginable wealth , and as the film opens michael corleone ( al pacino ) is being invested with a great honor by the church . 
later that day , at a reception , his daughter announces a corleone family gift to the church and the charities of sicily , " a check in the amount of $100 million . " 
but the corleones are about to find , as others have throughout history , that you cannot buy forgiveness . 
sure , you can do business with evil men inside the church , for all men are fallible and capable of sin . 
but god does not take payoffs . 
the plot of the movie , concocted by coppola and mario puzo in a screenplay inspired by headlines , brings the corleone family into the inner circles of corruption in the vatican . 
there is a moment in " godfather iii " where michael says : " all my life i have been trying to go up in society , where everything was legal . 
but the higher i go , the crookier it becomes . . " 
 . 
visually this film is as spectacular as the first two . 
gordon willis' rich cinematography , carmine copolla's beautiful composition and alex tavoularis' wonderful art direction could not be better . 
but copolla's first two godfather-films were more famous for their deep , intellectual plots , tree dimensional characters and incredible acting , than for their visual perfection . 
the third installment has only the plot and visuals . 
some characters could be much more developed and the acting , although good , never accomplishes to reach the same height of the first two films . 
the biggest miscasting is sofia copolla , who is so unconvincing and unemotional that she manages to ruin several scenes throughout the movie , that could have been grander and more emotional . 
the best performance comes unsurprisingly from al pacino , who should have got a nomination for best actor at the oscars . 
andy garcia is powerful as sonny's son , strong , focused and loyal . 
violence is natural to him . 
he suffers no pangs of conscience when he takes revenge on his family's behalf , and in this he is supposed to be strong in the uncomplicated way don vito corleone was . 
however both kay ( diane keaton ) and connie ( talia shire ) are useless . 
and characters like vito corleone and tom hagen are really missed . 
the good part is that michael is again reunited with old friends , that you remember from the first and second films . 
in the third film michael has become almost like his father , vito in the first film and vincenzo resembles michael when he was much younger . 
this parallel could be more interesting if vincenzo's character was more developed . 
many have pointed out that making the third film , was unnecessary . 
i disagree . 
it is a beautiful film of great importance , completing the tragic saga of the corleone family . 
the first film showed some horrible results of corleone's life . 
it showed michael making a choice ; the second showed a man damning himself for his choices and feeling the impact of changing times . 
a man desperately trying to keep his balance , focus , family and sanity , while everything is crashing all around him . 
the third film is a terrifying conclusion - a result of michael's life . 
the life he chose for himself is like quicksand - one wrong step and you are doomed . 
there is no turning back . 
and no matter how hard you try to get out of it , to free yourself , no matter how powerful and wealthy you are , you are helpless - sinking deeper and deeper till it swallows you completely . 
the beautifully directed last sequence is also the powerful climax of the film , when michael is sitting alone in his chair , left by everyone , surrounded by emptiness and memories of his friends and family members long dead . 
here he dies - alone , miserable and unforgiven