The Godfather trilogy (or at least the first two films) are highly regarded as some of the best movies ever made. With writer/director Francis Ford Coppola and powerhouse Al Pacino being a part of all three films, it is a shock to many fans that the third was a wash. The third film was released 16 years after the second, a gap much larger than the two-year gap between the first two films. Not only were the first two films made much closer together, thus capitalizing on the hype, but the third film also followed almost a completely different cast. The main characters were people we had never seen, and the main familiar face was that of Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, but even he looked very different from the Michael Corleone fans had loved.
Instead of feeling like an extension of the Godfather universe, the third film instead felt like a miserable way to end such a well-loved trilogy. Many fans even skip the third film when showing the series to friends. The third film felt like an ugly scar on a beautiful face instead of the perfect wrap-up to the series that it was meant to be. So why did The Godfather Part III fail so miserably?
What is the Plot of The Godfather?
The plot of the first Godfather film is hard to describe in a few sentences and honestly, if you haven't watched it, just do that instead; it's arguably the best mafia or gangster movie ever made But, if you really want a synopsis of the plot here it is. Vito Corleone, current crime boss of the Corleone family, is almost assassinated after a failed deal. Vito's son Sonny takes over the family business and plans to strike back against the assassination attempt. Vito's youngest son Michael kills the man who planned the assassination attempt and a corrupt police officer and then goes into hiding in Sicily.
While in Sicily, Michael marries a woman who is then killed by a bomb in his car and then returns to America when he hears his brother Sonny has been murdered. When Michael returns, he marries his former girlfriend and takes over the family business. Right as Michael is about to move the family to Las Vegas, his father dies and chaos ensues among the heads of the five families.
What is the Plot of The Godfather III?
The third film in The Godfather trilogy was meant to serve as an epilogue to the first two. Its purpose was to wrap up the story of Michael Corleone that had begun in the first film. When the film begins, Michael is making an attempt to legitimize the criminal empire that he has run as his father's successor. The empire was successful, but Michael wanted more (as it seems he always does) and wanted the business to at least have the appearance of being legitimate.
The film also follows Michael as he chooses a successor in his brother Sonny's illegitimate son, Vincent. As Vincent shadows Michael to be his successor, he falls in love with Michael's daughter Mary, who is also Vincent's first cousin (yay, unnecessary incest). The last main plot line of the third film is the fictionalized version of the Papal banking scandal that occurred in the early 1980s. In the lens of the film, Michael Corleone was involved in the scandal as well as the death of Pope John Paul I.
Why is The Godfather Part 3 So Different?
No one can say for sure (other than maybe Francis Ford Coppola) why the third film in the Godfather trilogy was such a bust. It could be the terrible nepotistic acting by the otherwise great director Sofia Coppola, who was cast after the first actress died and then the second choice, Winona Ryder, dropped out. Other actors from the originals refused to reprise their roles, like Robert Duvall, while some more actors had passed away, like Joe Pinell. It could also be the odd inclusion of incest, the lazy writing of the script, the notoriously shoddy editing between scenes, or the fact that Coppola's heart simply wasn't in it, as he never wanted to make the film.
Fans of the series ignore the third film for a reason, and each person has their own. However, the film as a whole felt like it did not fit with the rest of the series. Not only was it set in a significantly later time period, but it also didn't have the same energy as the first two. It felt staged and rigid instead of an authentic look into an organically transpiring event. Especially in the first Godfather film, viewers felt like they were a part of the film and could understand the characters. On the other hand, the third film felt like bad fan fiction, or a school play where a bunch of fifth graders staged a Broadway play. In other words, they were way out of their league. At the end of the day, if you are new to The Godfather series, just watch the first two.