I don’t have much to say about The Godfather, Part II. Everyone knows Fredo’s tragic trajectory, Kay’s ultimate betrayal and Michael continuing to be smarter than everyone else at a detriment to his family life. He’s too smart for Hyman. Too smart for the government. Too smart for assassin’s bullets. Somewhere in the midst of all this, though, he’s lost his humanity. Without really acknowledging it, he’s given up on legitimizing the family. Instead he is focused on creating heirs to his throne. He can no longer distinguish between family and business. His desire to win is stultifying to all around him. They try to hurt him just to see if they can. In the end, it leaves him alone. Although, maybe he’s always been alone in this family.

Everyone talks of poor Fredo but, for me, the movie was made in the flashbacks. Robert DeNiro’s performance as young Vito is spectacular. The recreation of turn of the century New York was just enthralling to watch. My only complaint about the film is that I wanted more of this scene work.

Funniest part of the movie? Watching on subtitles, in the final flashback, Sonny Corleone calls Michael “Joe College.” The subtitles spell it out as “Joe Collage.”

Hilarious.

I’m a word nerd.

Utterly dark, and maybe the best of the three.