The Godfather III

It is finished. I finished watching the last movie in The Godfather Trilogy. More drama and intrigue. I didn't like this one as much as the others, I think I could predict what was coming and even though I didn't know "how" something would happen, I was detached as I waited for that "how."

Sophia Coppola plays Michael and Kay's grown daughter, Mary. She certainly has fabulous hair, but I couldn't forget that she really looked different from the Mary in Godfather II, who looked more like her mother. And the actor who played Tony, looked like Kay, while in the earlier movie he looked so Italian. It's rare that children grow out of their earlier looks to that degree.

This film's plot brought in a lot of conspiracy theory relating to the papacy and John Paul I's death. I actually buy into that theory, but here it seemed convenient and forced. Coppola clearly wanted to send a message, as Goldwyn would say, "If you want to send a message, call Western Union."

I couldn't get over the fact that people died so quietly. Men who were stabbed barely made a peep at the back of the opera theater never arousing anyone's interest. Also their bodies magically disappeared as they tend to do in film. Here that presented more of a problem for me as all those involved stuck around for further killing.

I did wonder why Connie's grown son, who was Michael's godchild in the first film didn't appear. I thought that would have been poetic, if he was included deftly.

I loved Joe Mantegna's performance as Joey Zasa, who represented the "New Mafia" for a while at least.

I thought Pacino's make up and performance was off. He seemed to be working hard to Brando-ize an older Michael, who was slicker and classier. Somehow this Michael seemed to have grown up in the Bronx as opposed to the suburbs.

I did like Diane Keaton's performance as Kay, the only person who refuses to buy into Michael's excuses about how everything he did was to protect his family.

All in all, I found this to be the weakest of the three films and doesn't compare to the Family Secrets Trial, but if you watch the first three, you sort of have to watch the third.

I agree completely with Roger Ebert that the last scene of this film is weak, rather too predictable.