Review – The Godfather Part 2

In my opinion, this is the best of the three, slightly edging out the first one. But that’s probably just a personal preference, inasmuch as I like the big-time conspiracy stuff (particularly touches like the subtle allusions to the Kennedy assassination) better than the hoodlum-intensive action of the original. I also like the see-sawing back and forth between the 1950s travails of Michael Corleone with his disintegrating family and the early 20th century stuff showing Vito Corleone struggling up from the streets. This is one of the few films where that kind of flashback nonsense actually seems to work. The subplot with Diane Keaton and the failed marriage doesn’t work as well, mostly because by this point in the overall drama Michael is too deep into it to struggle convincingly with the forces of good and evil at war within him. Other than those relatively brief moments, however, this film is a solid piece of entertainment. Worth seeing