The Godfather Part III: 10 Ways It’s Not As Bad As Fans Think
Some fans look down on The Godfather: Part III, deeming it a storytelling failure and a cash grab, but there’s still a lot to love about the epic.
The Godfather Part III was released in 1990 to universal acclaim. The movie was nominated for best picture at the Oscars as well as 10 other Academy Awards. But The Godfather Part III didn’t actually win any of the Oscars for which it was nominated, and it wasn’t long until fans and critics started talking about major problems with the movie.
Due to story elements like the incestuous relationship between Mary and Vincent, and the whole idea of Michael ever being redeemed for his crimes, fans aren’t often eager to rewatch the trilogy’s third installment. However, the film has a lot to offer. Between retaining the incredible look of the first two movies, delivering livelier action scenes, and introducing some of the series’ best characters, there’s a lot to love about the end of Michael Corleone’s story.
A lot of beloved characters in the Godfather films unfortunately didn’t return for the third movie, but there was one new addition to the cast that made audiences forget about the absentees. Vincent (Andy Garcia) is Sonny’s long-lost son, and he enters the fold convincing Michael that he should be the Godfather’s right hand man. The character is a big reason why The Godfather Part III is underrated.
Like his father, Vincent has a short fuse and is known for his ferocious temper. At one point, he literally tries to bite an enemy’s ear off after a disagreement. Vincent brought a menacing energy to the franchise that was missing without Sonny.
Some people believe that Godfather Part III is better than Part II, but most will say that can’t be possible because Part III is missing one major player: Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall.) The character had been the family’s trusted lawyer and consigliere in the first movie and in The Godfather Part II.
The reason why Duvall wasn’t in Part III is because he and Coppola couldn’t agree on Duvall’s salary. Instead, B.J. Harrison (George Hamilton) is the new legal and financial advisor to Michael Corleone. He fills Hagen’s shoes without coming off as derivative, and is actually one of the best characters in the series. The character even possessed a strong and more confident manner than Tom, which was refreshing to see in a consigliere.
When it comes to murders in the Godfather series, they tend to be fairly by-the-numbers for gangster business, whether it’s strangling somebody with piano wire or shooting somebody in the passenger seat from the backseat of a car. But Part III went above and beyond the expected when Michael travelled to Atlantic City to speak with other mob bosses he has a partnerships with.
At the meeting, Joey Zasa rains down on the bosses with machine-gun fire from a helicopter. It’s among the most uniquely violent scenes in the series. There’s even a strange streak of dark humor that runs through the scene as one gangster hangs onto a jacket hung on a coatrack because it’s his “lucky coat.” Unsurprisingly, the stubborn crime boss is quickly killed.
It isn’t hard to forget that Francis Ford Coppola director Part III because, regardless of how criticized it is, the film always looks beautiful. The artistry in its cinematography is just as great as its predecessors.
