The Godfather: Part III

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. (08/10/2006)

"Real power can't be given. It must be taken." Is returning to the subject matter sixteen years later just flogging a dead horse? No, not at all. Although The Godfather III can’t equal its predecessors, it is still so much better than most other movie productions that it is impossible to give it less than a full set of stars. And the closing half hour is the best passage of the entire trilogy. A marvelous (and again unforgettable) ending to this family saga. (15/01/2007)

The third Godfather wasn’t as impressive as the first two. The heavy atmosphere was gone, Michael Corleone, now in his older age, gave the film a tired look. The film's extreme length felt overwhelming this time, the few bright moments got almost lost in it. A large part of the film bored me, and I was only pleased with the revelation that even mafia organizations are absolutely no match for the Vatican, and that Francis Ford Coppola understood exactly what kind of film he was making and made it a family business. (19/07/2017)

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. (28/04/2006)

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. (05/06/2022)