Review - The Godfather Part II (1974)

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Two years after the release of The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola returned to the Corleone family with 1974's The Godfather Part II, which saw the returns of Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Talia Shire, and Morgana King, with new cast members including Robert De Niro, Lee Strasberg, G. D. Spradlin, Michael V. Gazzo, Richard Bright, Bruno Kirby, Frank Sivero, John Aprea, and Giuseppe Solatto. 

     The movie is split into two separate stories, cutting from one to the other at intermittent points throughout the movie. The first story explores the backstory of Don Vito Corleone, who was born Vito Andolini in the city of Corleone, Sicily. In 1901, Vito's father, Antonio Andolini, paid a disrespect to local Mafia chieftain Don Ciccio, and was killed for it. Vito's older brother, Paolo, swears revenge on the Don, and goes off into the hills, leaving Vito as the only son standing with his mother at Antonio's funeral. And, it during the funeral that Paolo is found dead, which means that Vito is next. Hoping to avert this, Vito's mother takes the boy to Don Ciccio himself, who believes that he will grow into a strong man and take his revenge. Vito's mother buys time for Vito to escape, and is killed for her actions. However, a few family friends smuggle Vito out of Sicily onto a boat bound for New York, where the immigration officer at Ellis Island registers him as "Vito Corleone," and he is placed in medical quarantine for several ailments. 

      Years later, we see Vito as a young man working for the Abbandando family at their grocery store, and is very close to their son Genco. Also, Vito has married his wife Carmela, and is providing for both her and their son Santino. However, Abbandando is forced to fire Vito as a favor to local mafia boss Don Fanucci, who is looking to secure a job for his nephew at the grocery store. In 1920, Vito befriends small time criminals Sal Tessio and Pete Clemenza, and the three enter into an operation built on illegal fencing and performing favors in exchange for loyalty. Don Fanucci gets wind of this, and demands a cut of Vito's profits in exchange for not turning him in. But, during a local street festival, Vito kills Don Fanucci and takes over the neighborhood, treating it far better than Fanucci ever did. And, by this point, Vito and Carmela have had two more sons: Fredo and Michael. 

      Vito and Genco then decide to begin working on importing and distributing olive oil from Sicily, calling the business Genco Pura Olive Oil. This new trade, combined with the illegal fencing, makes Vito incredibly wealthy. And, in 1922, Vito returns to Sicily for the first time, where he and his partner, Don Tommasino, meet with the elderly Don Ciccio, who due to loss of hearing and vision due to old age, doesn't recognize Vito. But, Vito reveals that he is the only surviving son of Antonio Andolini, and carves open the stomach of Don Ciccio, avenging his family. 

      The second story is set years after the events of the original film, and focuses on Michael, the new Don Corleone, and his struggles to cut out the Corleone family's ties to the mafia in an effort to make the family more legitimate. This is undermined when, on the night after his son Anthony's First Communion celebration, an assassination attempt is taken out on both Michael and his wife Kay, who was pregnant with their third child. 

        So, Michael spends a good amount of time throughout the movie learning who's betrayed him, and also working to clear the Corleone family's name of any ties to organized crime by testifying at a number of Senate committee hearings. Unfortunately, a number of trusted individuals, including the likes of Frank Pentangeli, Human Roth, and Michael's own brother Fredo have all been trying to either undermine or betray Michael. But, while Michael feels the betrayal of Fredo the hardest, he merely exiles his brother, but orders no harm as long as their mother, Carmela, is still alive. And, to make matters worse, Michael learns from Tom that Kay lost her baby, but she later reveals that she had an abortion, as she didn't want to bring another son of Michael's into the world. Enraged, Michael cuts Kay out of the family. 

       After the passing of Carmela, Michael is approached by Connie, who decides to work at her brother's side going forward, and convinces him to patch things up with Fredo. And, although reluctant, Michael does give Fredo a hug during the funeral. Fredo also bonds with Michael's son Anthony over fishing. What follows sees Michael's caporegime Rocco assassinate Roth at an airport, sees Tom convince Frank Pentangeli to commit suicide, and sees Michael's assassin Al Neri kill Fredo while fishing. 

      We then get a flashback to the fiftieth birthday party for Vito, where Sonny introduces his friend Carlo Rizzi to the family, Michael reveals he's enlisted in the Marines to fight in World War II, and only Fredo supports Michael's decision. The movie ends with Michael, reflecting on Fredo's death, sitting alone by the edge of Lake Tahoe. 

      The Godfather Part II is widely seen as one of the greatest movie sequels of all time. And, it's absolutely impossible to argue that point. And, I thought it was brilliant to combine the continuation of Michael's story after becoming the new Don of the Corleone family with the backstory of his father Vito. And, as the two leads, Al Pacino as Michael and Robert De Niro as Vito were absolutely fantastic. And, much like with the original film, the music score by Nino Rota and the cinematography by Gordon Willis both truly compliment the film incredibly well. Overall, the work that Francis Ford Coppola did with The Godfather Part II is absolutely reflective of and complimentary to his exquisite work on the original. 

      Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and join me in the next review, where we wrap up The Godfather trilogy with The Godfather Part III.