The Godfather Part III (1990)

The Godfather Part III (1990)

starring Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia

directed by Francis Ford Coppola

162 minutes

Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) struggles to manage the family business in 1979, three decades after he took control of it. His decision to have the family business go legitimate and divest itself of gambling, drugs, and prostitution runs into some flack from Joey Zasa, who took over the Corleone family's operations in the New York City area years before.

Zasa considers Michael's decision an insult and tries to have him killed. Michael escapes the attempt on his life thanks in large part to fast thinking from his nephew, Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia). Vincent deals with Joey Zasa but then complicates Michael's life when he gets romantically involved with his first cousin Mary, Michael's daughter.

Michael attempts to buy control of a large European company while bailing out the Vatican's bank. That plan runs into some speed bumps when the Pope gets very sick just as they need him to approve the deal. Michael finally finds someone he can trust in the Vatican and starts to feel better when the cardinal is elected to replace the dead Pope but then his enemies start plotting to kill both Michael and the Pope.

Thoughts

The final act includes a long montage of scenes, most of which take place in an opera house in Palermo, Sicily. Michael, Kay (Diane Keaton), Mary, Connie (Talia Shire), Vincent, and many others are there to see Michael and Kay's son sing one of the lead parts from Cavalleria Rusticana.

There are a number of familiar faces in this film including Joe Mantegna, Eli Wallach, George Hamilton, and Bridget Fonda. Sofia Coppola (Mary Corleone) was a relative unknown at the time this movie was made although she had also been in the first two Godfather films. Winona Ryder was originally supposed to play the part of Mary, according to my research, but had to back out due to other commitments.

This film feels like a real tonal shift from the first two films in the Godfather trilogy. It's almost like it is from an alternate universe. I can see why I was so turned off by it the first time I saw it. If you go in expecting something like the first two film then you will very likely be disappointed.

I saw this movie in a movie theater when it was first released. This is probably the first time I have seen it since then. I think I enjoyed it more this time around. I knew that it wasn't going to be as good as the first couple Godfather movies. It is much more melodramatic than its two predecessors. It also helped to be watching it at home where I could take breaks.