The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel The Godfather by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola, and it is both a sequel and a prequel to the 1972 film The Godfather.
Good but not as vivid and compelling as the first film. I feel this is gets a bit stuck with the dark brooding thinky, thinky staring into space acting. Also there's lots of "deep n meaningful", difficult conversations in dark, quiet rooms. There's less action and less story than movie 1.
The acting is seriously method, especially De Niro and Pacino. There's a story about how De Niro spent months learning Sicilian dialect Italian for his role (and then said nearly a dozen words in the whole film).
This is the movie that started the 'II' trend in cinema. Prior to this the studios baulked at the idea of 'II' and 'III' etc films because they believed moviegoers regarded them as repetitive. 49 years on every vaguely successful, goddamn movie is a 'II' or a 'III' (or more, see MCU catalogue). Maybe it's time to stop?
The movie itself is notable for its parallel storytelling. Set in 1958/59 and 1901-23 there are two plot strands in the movie telling stories of the new Godfather Michael (Al Pacino) and the old one (when he was younger, Robert De Niro, mostly). Amazingly this is the subject of intense criticism at the time of first release. This example alone demonstrates how movies and their audiences have advanced in sophistication since the 'olden days'. There is no problem (in the audience I watched this with) in the story switching. To suggest there is a problem would be an insult if it weren't so ridiculous.
The director's very great strength is the way the period scenes seem effortlessly authentic. There are so many little details in street scenes, furniture, clothing that look like candidates for anachronism but I can't spot 'em. Whoever was doing this was really doing it well. Additionally there is a realistic look to it. Often period films before this (eg. any Western or war film) often looked theatrical and fake-y rather than grimy and real. Bar raised... modern movies followed.
The story sews up some bits of the original movie in a satisfying way but it feels predictable for some reason. This may be because of the amount the film has been copied. (Like every scene in Alien, it can seem cliched or familiar but this is because it's where the cliche started.)
The movie is influential on modern culture in many ways. Apart from the famous, oft quoted dialogue the character of Fredo and his key scenes in the climax gives meaning to the modern metonym of 'the Fredo' or 'the Fredo kiss' meaning an incompetent traitor and/or his dramatic reveal.
Good but not the best ever ABM Rating 2.5/3
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