The Godfather: Part III

Completely different from the first two parts, deliberately so, and yet still brilliant. It starts off slightly slower, but the final half-hour is possibly the best of the entire saga. Coppola this time gives preference to the younger generation portrayed by the great duo Garcia+Coppola, with Vincent, as a younger version of Michael, taking the lead. It's a beautiful feeling when Connie or Kay appear on the scene, and the ailing Godfather watches over everything, his almost forgotten past resurfacing. Plenty of nostalgia, fate, and memories with a new twist, and throughout the entire duration, chills run down your spine as the viewer more than suspects how it will all end, but doesn't want it to be that way. And for it to end at all. (04/28/2006)

For me personally, the best part of the trilogy. Coppola finally brought some dynamics and tension into it, which was missing for me in the first two parts. Bridget Fonda and especially Andy Garcia, who was rightfully nominated for an Oscar, also helped a lot. The ending was truly heart-stopping. (05/10/2004)

In the third episode of the saga, my favorite character, the lawyer played by Robert Duvall, is missing, along with the chemistry between the members of the clan, of which he was the unifying element. And Pacino’s Michael Corleone is very different – I wouldn’t say that eight years had passed since the previous film, but rather twenty. However, moving to his native Sicily and dealing with the Church in order to enter the highest circles of power is fertile ground for another gang of corrupt goons and Michael’s reflection on his own life with the devastating weight of remorse makes the film a respectable conclusion to the trilogy. And the most emotional. (06/05/2022)

I was the most worried about the last Godfather. After all, continuing the story so many years later is unusual and raises some concerns. A huge time shift in the story, the ageing of the main characters, and so forth. However, my fears were unjustified because the script is tightened to the last detail and doesn't lose any of the atmosphere of the previous films, but it pushes the plot all the way to 1978. Al Pacino is brilliant again as Don Michael, and Andy Garcia is great in the supporting role. The breathtaking Corleone saga comes to an end, and all we have left are the memories. (10/08/2006)

The fourth star was squeezed out by the camera, because otherwise this family drama, which you can totally decode within an hour and you know exactly where it's going, has little to do with the mafia theme. Sadly, it's the takeover of the reins from the initially uncouth redneck Andy Garcia that makes it clear that the Corleone family corporation is effectively dead, because even distinguished behavior, an expensive jacket, and four liters of motor oil in his hair can't hide his true origins and violent nature. (03/12/2012)