Few people have much good to say about The Godfather Part III (1990). Despite generally positive reviews and several Oscar nominations, it became an instant joke, decried as the textbook useless Hollywood sequel. Francis Ford Coppola's last visit with the Corleones is badly misjudged, an overstuffed grab bag of ideas good, bad and inexplicable.It's 1979, and Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) finally prepares to legitimize the Corleone family. Having become a philanthropist and legitimate businessman, he looks to purchase the Vatican-based Immobiliarie corporation. Yet a coterie of Vatican officials, Italian politicians and bankers stand in his way. In America, he faces challenges from family associate Don Altobello (Eli Wallach) and hood Joey Zasa (Joe Mantegna). Dragged back into crime, Michael enlists help from Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia), Sonny's illegitimate son, to check these rivals - yet he's upset when Vincent romances his daughter Mary (Sofia Coppola).
Godfather III was a paycheck job for Coppola, but one can't claim it's a lazy film. If anything it's overambitious: Part III's top-heavy with story. The Godfather had a compact narrative; Godfather II interweaves historical events with Michael's dissolution, then added an ingenious flashback structure. In contrast, Part III crams threads haphazardly together: Michael's atonement, his son (Franc D’Ambrosio) becoming a singer, Vincent's rise and romance with Mary, the Vatican Bank, war with Joey Zasa, Pope John Paul I's ascension. Part II has several storylines but never feels cluttered; Part III is a mess.
Coppola and Mario Puzo also add countless unnecessary characters. Don Altobello is another long-lost Corleone friend making trouble; Joey Zasa, a John Gotti caricature more annoying than deadly. George Hamilton replaces Robert Duvall as consigliere, a major miscalculation. The Vatican plot introduces a half-dozen characters who hover sinisterly around the periphery. Helmut Berger's slimy banker crops up at random intervals. Coppola makes a big deal introducing an Italian politician (Enzo Robutti) with Mob ties, then forgets him until the ending. Too bad also that Coppola's direction is uncharacteristically excessive. Part III features a helicopter massacre more befitting Lethal Weapon, killing more people in five minutes than the first two films combined. Vincent murders Joey Zasa in a similarly over-the-top horseback chase. Even the inevitable climactic montage is botched, inexplicably dragging over ten minutes. Lacking the visceral impact of Part I's baptism scene, it doesn't even work as the slow-burn suspense piece Coppola intended. It's a routine action movie with Coppola grace notes.
Defenders suggest viewing Part III as a standalone film, but this is impossible: Coppola includes clips from the previous films, and brings even minor characters like Johnny Fontaine and Enzo the baker out of mothballs. Not since Jaws the Revenge's finale has a sequel so shamelessly invoked its predecessor. In fairness, Godfather III's redeeming qualities mostly come from familiar elements, namely Al Pacino.
Michael's evolution from naïve war hero to ruthless Mafioso cast the series as a tragedy. While Michael never wanted to be a criminal, the job fit his personality traits (ambition, single-mindedness, devotion to family) perfectly. Having lost his father, brothers and wife in previous films, he makes an earnest attempt at atonement, becoming a philanthropist and trying to reconnect with Kay (Diane Keaton). Godfather III's best scene has Michael confessing to a sympathetic Cardinal (Raf Valone), laying bare decades of guilt and self-loathing. Michael bemoans his ensnarement in crime, but it's a trap of his own making: even now he can't shake its consequences.Al Pacino plays this beautifully. By this point, Pacino had become a throaty, screaming caricature but keeps his Scarface tendencies in check. He opts for restraint, puzzling over his own failures, his inability to escape the past, a man haunted even in success. Pacino sells this with angst suggested through pained delivery and brooding focus, making Michael a truly sympathetic monster.
Series veterans Diane Keaton, Talia Shire and Richard Bright do nice work, with Shire especially impressive as the Mob princess-turned-Sicilian dragon lady. Andy Garcia is all violent rage and focused charisma, a compelling counterpart to Michael. Eli Wallach is wasted, while Joe Mantegna rehearses for The Simpsons' Fat Tony. Sofia Coppola's performance is notoriously bad; she can't read lines to save her life. Raf Vallone's virtuous Cardinal steals every scene, a compelling character sidelined by an overstuffed script. After 170 minutes of miscalculation, Godfather III ends perfectly: Michael experiencing the ultimate tragedy, then himself dying alone and forgotten. It's such a harrowing scene that it almost makes up for the mess preceding it. Almost, but not quite.
