The film does a surprisingly good job at making me root for Michael

The Godfather II

Blogging has become a chore lately, though I don’t really know why. Perhaps it is because I actually have seen the film a few days ago, and just like for the first film, have been wondering what I should write about this film.

The first time I have heard of “The Godfather” was when I went to the cinema for the first time to see “You’ve got mail”. Ever since, it was clear that I would have to read “Pride and Prejudice” (which I did, something like 10 years ago) and, of course, watch “The Godfather”. Now that I finally saw these films, I am at a loss of words.

Actually I had hoped that the second film would be better than the first, considering that it would have a larger budget and generally show more of Michael. I wouldn’t say that I was disappointed, but most of all, the film actually felt very strongly like a sequel. Of course I am very eager to know what happened after the first film, but it does seem to be very hard to keep up with the incredibly high quality that the first film came with. The atmosphere, the composition of the shots, the flow of the story – almost everything feels like “the same thing but less” in the second film. The characters come off as less evil, the story feels less dangerous, the intrigues more simple and boring… perhaps the only good aspect was how the character of the brother evolved. Fredo was a good guy until the end, he was just foolish and stupid; his death is the one which marks Michael’s final decision to becoming completely evil. At the end of the day, unlike his father, he pretty much failed everything that was dear to him – his business, his family and friends. But then again, was he too ‘soft’ since he clearly cared for certain people (namely his wives and his family) or too cruel (for not actually taking their own wishes into account)? It’s hard to say, and perhaps that was the most interesting aspect of the film.

I’m not so sure if and when I would want to see the last film of the trilogy. Parts of me really wants to (you cannot just watch the first 2 and not the last ones!), but another part knows that it would be a disappointment for sure. We will see.