The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone
Year: 2020
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Al Pacino
Runtime: 162 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 17/04/24
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Al Pacino
Runtime: 162 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 17/04/24
I’m sure that my review of The Godfather Part II went down as well as my review of the original film. I wouldn’t know because these reviews are of course being published posthumously following my death at the hands of an angry mob following the publication of my review of the original Godfather film. But my time with the classic gangster films has come to an end now with the third and final film. But not the third film many of you may be familiar with, no my Godfather Blu-Ray boxset came with the 2020 re-release of the third film, re-edited and presented in the way director Francis Ford Coppola and writer Mario Puzo always wanted. Supposedly it’s better than the original Godfather Part III, but if that’s the case then I’d hate to see how bad the original was.
Twenty-one years after the events of The Godfather Part II, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is still trying to legitimise the work that the Corleone family undertake so that he can leave his children a business that doesn’t resort to them entering a life of crime. He finally believes he has found the answer, by buying out the Vatican for their majority shares of the international real estate company, Immobiliare.
But when the ill health of Pope Paul VI declines, Michael must ensure that his successor will be someone willing to ratify the agreement.
Meanwhile Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia) claims to be Michael’s nephew, the illegitimate son of Michael’s eldest brother Sonny. After proving himself to Michael and following his own son’s desire to be kept out of family affairs, Michael begins to train Vincent to take over the Corleone family business. But when Michael’s daughter Maria (Sofia Coppola) seeks to reconnect with her father, she and Vincent fall in love much to the disapproval of Michael.
Twenty-one years after the events of The Godfather Part II, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is still trying to legitimise the work that the Corleone family undertake so that he can leave his children a business that doesn’t resort to them entering a life of crime. He finally believes he has found the answer, by buying out the Vatican for their majority shares of the international real estate company, Immobiliare.
But when the ill health of Pope Paul VI declines, Michael must ensure that his successor will be someone willing to ratify the agreement.
Meanwhile Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia) claims to be Michael’s nephew, the illegitimate son of Michael’s eldest brother Sonny. After proving himself to Michael and following his own son’s desire to be kept out of family affairs, Michael begins to train Vincent to take over the Corleone family business. But when Michael’s daughter Maria (Sofia Coppola) seeks to reconnect with her father, she and Vincent fall in love much to the disapproval of Michael.
Whilst I was largely indifferent to the first two Godfather films, loving some aspects but loathing others, I struggled to really find anything about The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone that I enjoyed.
I joked about the first Godfather film having a telenovela feel to the deaths because of how overdramatic they were, but The Godfather Coda soften feels like it actually has the story of a telenovela. A conspiracy to control the fate of the Vatican and a forbidden love are the two central plot points of this story, and they’re both hilariously out of place in a Godfather film.
I’m not sure I ever really understood what was happening, or why, and once the credits started to roll, I just couldn’t understand the need for this film at all.
When doing my research, I discovered that a third Godfather film was never planned, and was only created out of necessity for a financial win for Coppola. Paramount had been failing to make a third film in the franchise for well over a decade and their only hope was Coppola who was happy to return so long as he got paid a handsome amount for the job. It’s clear as day to me that Coppola and Puzo simply did not put the same level of care or passion into this third film, seeing it simply as a financial opportunity for them rather than a way to meaningfully continue the story.
I joked about the first Godfather film having a telenovela feel to the deaths because of how overdramatic they were, but The Godfather Coda soften feels like it actually has the story of a telenovela. A conspiracy to control the fate of the Vatican and a forbidden love are the two central plot points of this story, and they’re both hilariously out of place in a Godfather film.
I’m not sure I ever really understood what was happening, or why, and once the credits started to roll, I just couldn’t understand the need for this film at all.
When doing my research, I discovered that a third Godfather film was never planned, and was only created out of necessity for a financial win for Coppola. Paramount had been failing to make a third film in the franchise for well over a decade and their only hope was Coppola who was happy to return so long as he got paid a handsome amount for the job. It’s clear as day to me that Coppola and Puzo simply did not put the same level of care or passion into this third film, seeing it simply as a financial opportunity for them rather than a way to meaningfully continue the story.
It’s not just Coppola and Puzo that have half arsed it though. The majority of the actors feel like they’re only there for the pay check. The film is notorious for Sofia Coppola’s Razzie worthy performance, and whilst she is definitely the worst actor in the film, she’s far from the only one who falls short of the mark.
Even Pacino feels like he’s phoning it in here compared to his stellar performance in Part II. He comes across as careless and like he’s just delivering the lines with no real regard for the character.
it wasn’t all bad though, I do feel like the film had an excellent climax at the Opera. It was the only time in the film I was gripped and genuinely interested in what was happening as it weaved together three different assassinations all happening at the same time.
This was a disappointing ending to a film series I felt never lived up to the reputation it has garnered. If this was truly a better version of the film than the original Godfather Part III that released in 1990 then that film must have truly been terrible, but I’ll never watch it and find out because Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone was a waste of my time.
From the nonsense story to the poor performances, this finale to The Godfather was an insult to everything the first two films did right. I can’t say I was the biggest fan of those films either, but I do at least acknowledge what they did well even if I found them to be overlong and tediously paced.
Regardless of what I thought, I’m likely sleeping with the fishes now. The moral of the story? Never listen to any man that tells you The Godfather is a masterpiece.
Even Pacino feels like he’s phoning it in here compared to his stellar performance in Part II. He comes across as careless and like he’s just delivering the lines with no real regard for the character.
it wasn’t all bad though, I do feel like the film had an excellent climax at the Opera. It was the only time in the film I was gripped and genuinely interested in what was happening as it weaved together three different assassinations all happening at the same time.
This was a disappointing ending to a film series I felt never lived up to the reputation it has garnered. If this was truly a better version of the film than the original Godfather Part III that released in 1990 then that film must have truly been terrible, but I’ll never watch it and find out because Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone was a waste of my time.
From the nonsense story to the poor performances, this finale to The Godfather was an insult to everything the first two films did right. I can’t say I was the biggest fan of those films either, but I do at least acknowledge what they did well even if I found them to be overlong and tediously paced.
Regardless of what I thought, I’m likely sleeping with the fishes now. The moral of the story? Never listen to any man that tells you The Godfather is a masterpiece.