The Godfather Part III

The Gist: Don Michael Corleone, now much older, would like to forgo his criminal past and clean up his family's name in the public eye, primarily for the sake of his children's future. His attempts to link the Corleone's finances with those of the Vatican, in order to earn a veneer of respectability, are met with an intricate plot to undermine his wealth and power. He will be forced to deal with the new threats by resorting to some old tricks.

The Godfather Part III concludes Francis Ford Coppola's trilogy on the Corleone family, but alas third time ain't the charm for the Don.

The movie is good, with a well plotted story and good performances, and it does bring the trilogy full circle, but it suffers from the comparison with the previous two films, which have become iconic.

That's a bit of a pity for such a hot property and perhaps it's also a little unfair, given that almost two decades had passed from the first chapter's debut, but Part III certainly feels somewhat strained. Not surprisingly, in spite of a few nominations, it received no Oscar love.

The Bottom Line: Al Pacino is still great, albeit not as good as in Part II, and Coppola still treats us to an interesting story, just don't harbor too high expectations.

Grade: 8