[7]

While I enjoy parts two and three, I have the same general problem with both of them. Why do they exist? The first film tells a complete story, but part two (with its shuffling of prelude and epilogue) plays like an index and part three is very clearly a coda (Coppola even wanted to name it “The Death of Michael Corleone”). However good they may be, they are but supplements to the original film. But at least they’re entertaining supplements.

Part Three is the most tragic of all the films. Aging Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) wants nothing more than reclaim a good name and rid himself of the family ‘business,’ but it proves too hard to shake. With the help of eager young Vincent (Andy Garcia), Michael is forced back into the game, this time fighting enemies with connections all the way to the Vatican. The opera house finale is well orchestrated by Coppola (an homage of sorts to The Man Who Knew Too Much), and the performances are reliably good all around… except for Sofia Coppola. She isn’t bad so much as flat, out of place among talent like Pacino, Garcia, Eli Wallach, Talia Shire, and Diane Keaton.

The film ends the same way the previous ones do, reaffirming what Michael Corleone and his father before him learned the hardest ways possible, that some decisions can scar and haunt you forever.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Andy Garcia), Cinematography, Art Direction, Film Editing, Original Song (“Promise Me You’ll Remember”)