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At last I have watched all of The Godfather movies. This week was the 3rd and final instalment, and what is publicly regarded as the worst of the 3 movies. It was made in 1990 and was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, winning none. My expectations were low for this movie and it turned out to be not as bad as I had expected.

In this movie we have an aging Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) trying to legitimise his business dealings and facing his past demons. His young nephew, son of Sonny, becomes his apprentice. Strangely I found this movie to be less confusing than the others. Even though all 3 movies were directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with this one he seemed to elucidate what was happening more so than the others. Speaking of Francis Ford Coppola, he managed to slip as many of his family into this movie as he could. His daughter plays the character of Michael's daughter Mary, and his father did the music, and his sister played the part of Connie Corleone. Really somebody should have stepped in and said a big fat "NO" when he suggested his daughter play the part of Mary. She is clearly the worst actor in a series of movies that is great for it's acting talent.

I can see why fans of the first 2 Godfather movies wouldn't like this one. It really is nothing like them. The focus isn't really on the business dealings of the family, or struggle against other Mafia groups. Even Michael is completely different in this one. In the other 2 he was very quiet and had a steely cold look in his eyes. That has all gone in this movie. It is almost like it was a cash in on the popularity of the first 2 movies, much the same as Karate Kid 3 and Terminator 3.

It is the shortest of the 3 Godfather movies but is still too long for me at 2 hours 45 minutes or so. I found I was fighting the sleep from just over 1 hour in. The storyline didn't exactly dance around in front of me to keep me awake.

The Rating -
The Godfather: Part 3 - 4 popes