The Godfather: Part II

"This is the business we chose." The second part of the brilliant adaptation of an unforgettable book. Taking over the baton from Brando is the duo of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, who are absolutely incredible. No need to add more. Simply one of the best and most essential films of world cinema. (15/01/2007)

Coppola made a lot of money with the first part, and it shows in the second part. A sweeping production design, hundreds and hundreds of extras, but somewhere the emotions have disappeared. Especially in the first half, the storyline with Michael Corleone is rather uninteresting. On the other hand, the memories of Vito Corleone are impressive; it is a pleasure to watch the then little-known De Niro. All my qualms were put to rest with the final act and the emotionally tense ending. The last shot of Michael Corleone's face is unforgettable, a man burdened by a heavy conscience, with wrinkles under his eyes and greying hair, a man who has gained power but lost love. (19/10/2003)

Rarely does the sequel succeed as perfectly as the original film, but with the second Godfather it almost did. We build on the life of Michael Corleone, who has become the new godfather, head of the family business, and we follow the complications his life brings. Al Pacino's excellent performance, which is even better than in the first movie, is a breathtaking spectacle. In parallel with Mike's story, however, we also follow the rise of his father, Vito Corleone (the only part that draws on Puzo's original book),his arrival in America, and the acquisition of much-valued respect. Robert De Niro is excellent as the young Vito and almost equals Pacino. An excellent sequel that exceeded my original expectations. The last scene of the film is completely disarming, and watching it kind of made me saddened for all those who were already... dead. (07/10/2006)

The Godfather Part II is a cinematic masterpiece that extends the story of the Corleone family into the higher realms intertwined with politics and the even darker rules of mafia practices. Whereas the disintegration of the family as the only real value of the protagonists’ existence was hinted at in the first film, the second, longest part is entirely about it. One timeline – about the childhood and adolescence of the first film’s most magnetic character (Marlon Brando), played perfectly by Robert De Niro – depicts the core of Vito Corleone’s personality in his early days in New York, while the other timeline examines his more inconsistent and darker son Michael, who became the most powerful American mobster of his time. It is a great role for the charismatic, respect-inspiring Al Pacino, whose Michael is capable of anything. More characters, a more interesting revealing of the workings of the most powerful underworld and even more pronounced between-the-lines plot shifts come together to form a chilling mosaic of thought. With all due respect to Martin Scorsese, it’s a good thing Francis Coppola remained the director of the trilogy. His more poetic form of storytelling suits it perfectly. (05/06/2022)

More elaborate, expensive, and monumental than the first film, but I can’t say which of them is of higher quality. In this second episode I somewhat miss the meaning of the retrospective part, where we follow a young Vito Corleone masterfully played by Robert De Niro. Of course, for the clarification and detailed description of the history of the Corleone family, it is good, but due to these inserts, the runtime is gigantic, and if we also add some less exciting passages depicting the present, the length of the film might be problematic for some viewers. Nevertheless, The Godfather II is more than a great film that describes relationships and business practices of mafia families in the 1940s and 1950s with incredible precision. Coppola did an outstanding job once again. (25/04/2004)