Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Despite its status as arguably the best movie sequel of all time (I suspect some will naysay this point; not I), "The Godfather: Part II" is in some ways quite formulaic. Following a rigid template he set up in "The Godfather: Part I", Francis Ford Coppola has once again fashioned a story that begins with a festival, features a failed attempt on the Don's life, and offers as a turning point the murder of an untouchable power figure. It repeats successful motifs (if you are a Corleone woman, don't be surprised when doors close in your face; if you are a controversial mobster, beware of all oranges), and, while being less easily quotable ("I know it was you… you broke my heart" has some catchphrase qualities, but it's no "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse"), is composed of a very specific kind of language that lets you know the world into which you've entered.

The biggest difference, though, is the inclusion of flashbacks to Vito Corleone's early life. These scenes, taken from Mario Puzo's original novel, let Coppola indulge an idea he had for another movie, to tell parallel stories of a father and a son at the same age. Far from an indulgence, though, these scenes do wonders in terms of fleshing out the history of the Corleone family. It drapes a more tragic pall over the story, for it becomes clear that Michael Corleone's fate, one that robs him of his soul and leaves him alone and heartbroken, could not have been avoided.

Robert De Niro plays young Vito (Trivia #1: he and Marlon Brando both won Oscars for playing the same character; I believe this is the only time this has happened), an orphan boy smuggled to America after witnessing the murder of his mother and brother at the hands the local Don. He grows up an honest and hard-working boy, in 1917 Little Italy, but when his job at a local grocery is given to the nephew of the neighbourhood boss, one Don Fanucci, Vito must turn to crime to support his family. The scenes with Fanucci, played with broad flair by Gastone Moschin, are impressive. For despite the power and style and fear embodied by the older man, Vito always looks to be in control. Much of the credit should go to De Niro, who was at the time, after effective supporting roles in "Mean Streets" and "Bang the Drum Slowly", shifting his career into a higher gear that would eventually lead him to Travis Bickle. He is at his best here when the scene calls for silence, displaying a whimsical grace that hides his violent nature. When he opens his mouth to speak it sounds an awful lot like the kind of Marlon-Brando-as-The-Godfather impression you've heard a million times. What worked in 1974 becomes cliched today. Still, De Niro anchors the flashback scenes securely to the floor, allowing the movie to float around him.

If the flashback scenes didn't mesh perfectly with the contemporary scenes, Coppola's little gimmick would seem redundant. Using a variety of devices, from congruent fade-ins in which De Niro appears to morph into Pacino, to abrupt switches that leave the audience needing a moment to decipher which time period they are in, the past and the present mesh perfectly into one movie.

The other half of the movie, set in the late-1950s and early-1960s, is epic in scope where the first half was small and personal. Michael Corleone, now based out of Lake Tahoe, attempts to spread his family's power by partnering with aging mobster Hyman Roth's. The locations here are varied, from Tahoe, to Vegas, to Miami, and back to New York. Many important scenes are set in pre-Castro Cuba, against a backdrop of revolution and his seizing of Havana on New Year's Eve. Despite the globetrotting antics of the story, it's still a tale of one individual's road to perdition.

Without his father and brother around to steal the spotlight, Michael Corleone firmly establishes himself as the key piece of "The Godfather" puzzle. Gone, however, is the innocent Joe College of the first film, replaced by a detached and Machiavellian man. He's reached the top of the mountain, only to find it a place cold enough to freeze your heart, and lonely enough that you must look inward for solace. It is the internal nature of Michael's character that defines how this story will be told. In contrast to "Part I", where the Italian nature (i.e., passions worn on sleeves) brought everything out in to the open, "Part II" concerns itself with what is going on inside Michael's skull. It is a place not easily accessed, and the way the film plays reflects this. Many of the killings are hidden, obstructed. "Part I" featured elaborate homicidal set-pieces, each culminating in a charismatic and compelling murder. "Part II" does no such thing. Instead of allowing us to see the bullet enter the eye, or the piano wire go around the neck, we get one murder partially hidden by wind-blown drapery, an attempted smothering that takes place behind closed doors, a suicide shown only in aftermath tableau, and finally a judicious edit, cutting away from the horrible act, to reveal who is really being destroyed by the final killing. Coppola, whose desire to make a personal film is more evident here than in "Part I" (which is, in comparison, almost a popcorn gobbling blockbuster), exhibits artful taste in the way he tells the story.

A story, which rides on the shoulders of Al Pacino. His portrayal of Michael Corleone, to me, is his best work. It is the template for every great performance he will give in its wake: quiet, brooding, and all the while repressing the vaunted Pacino rage ("Donnie Brasco" and "Insomnia", of Pacino's most recent work, are the only performances that come close to this kind of perfection). The Michael Corleone of "Part II" is a more mysterious man, a less joyous man, and a more vengeful man. Pacino is allowed to fully show the range of his anger only in moments. But because it has been cooped up for so long, when it is finally released the walls shake and the earth moves. He is spot on in most everything he does here.

Despite Michael's (and Al's) ascension to prominence, to the top of both the fictional family and the cast of the film, I always find Fredo to be a more intriguing character. Relegated to a few undignified scenes in "Part I" (drunk at the wedding… fumbling the gun while his father lays dying… getting slapped around by Moe Green), Fredo doesn't come off much better here. He's still the simplest of the Corleone boys, a condition now explained by a childhood sickness in the flashback scenes. But despite his deficiencies it is Fredo, knowingly or otherwise, who comes closest to taking The Godfather down. More so than any other film character I can think of off the top of my head, there's an intense sadness I get whenever I see Fredo on screen. Even in his greatest moments of revelry (when he still manages to torpedo himself). Imagine, then, the intenseness of his sadder moments, be it a quiet scene kneeling beside his mother's casket, or an intimate conversation with his nephew on how Hail Mary's do indeed help you catch fish. It is this last scene, which gets me the most, for it occurs just as Fredo's ultimate fate has been sealed. It is then left to the audience to wonder if this simple man, who has stumbled and bumbled his way to trying to do right for his family and for his self, knows what is in store for him. John Cazale, who played Fredo, does a remarkable job portraying the man's joie de vivre, his melancholy, and his self-awareness. In Cazale's hands Fredo knows that he will never reach the heights of his brothers, a fact that more or less defines his existence. "You're my kid brother," he incredulously tells Michael, "and you take care of me?" (Trivia #2: Cazale appeared in only 6 films in his career [including "The Godfather: Part III", which features him in archive footage]. All six were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, three of which won the award. He died of bone cancer before his last film, "The Deer Hunter", was released.)

Other alumni of "Part I" who make return engagements here are Diane Keaton and Robert Duvall. Keaton, rendered impotent in the first movie by her character's powerlessness, acquits herself much better here. Her Kay has lived with Michael long enough to acquire some pain and some depth, and Keaton, an actress of oddball rhythms and atypical beauty, handles herself well. Even in a heated scene with Pacino she holds her own. Duvall, whose Tom Hagen was the heart and soul of the Corleone clan in "Part I", slowly fades into the background here. Not Duvall's fault, mind you, but a necessary path for the character. As Michael's planet enlarges, the satellites surrounding him will have less to do. I suspect that this is one of the reasons why Duvall chose not to show up for "Part III".

A couple of newcomers are added to the mix, livening up an already tasty stew. Michael V. Gazzo, as underboss Frankie Pentangeli, brings a welcome dose of humour and brashness to the proceedings. His distinctive voice and broad gesticulations make him a wonderful character to watch. Gazzo, who was nominated for an Oscar for his work, was cast at the last minute. It seems that Richard Castellano, who played Clemenza in the first movie, had some odd demands of Coppola that killed his deal. Thus, Clemenza was written out of the movie and Pentangeli created out of necessity. It's a pity, because the same storyline with Clemenza would have further tied the past to the present, allowing for a more cohesive whole. That being said, the wonderful Gazzo more than makes up for this omission. The other newcomer who makes his mark is legendary acting teacher Lee Strasberg, who plays Hyman Roth. Sickly and old, Strasberg still manages to imbue Roth with a sense of the man's former vitality, and his current bulldogedness. Strasberg never makes bold choices (as opposed to Gazzo, who is all bold choices), but his quiet tenacity is a perfect match for the same quality Pacino brings to Michael.

At well over 3 hours long, "The Godfather: Part II" would be a torturous chore if it weren't such a fully-packed delight. Every scene is relevant to the plot, suspenseful, and wonderfully artistic. Coppola had an arduous task in trying to top the first "Godfather". While less overtly crowd-pleasing and propulsive, I'd say he pulled it off just fine.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD