What made this movie so great is they didn't try to outdo the first
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Godfather: Part II
PhooeyJaggernov — 5 years ago(May 24, 2020 06:02 AM)
Typically, sequels made since Godfather Part II tend to supply excessive amounts of whatever audiences liked about the first movie, and make a bigger, elevated version of a key aspect to the first. Sometimes this works, sometimes this backfires, becoming a product of flash over depth, spectacle over meaning.
Speed was a bus; Speed 2 was a cruise ship.
Jaws II had a bigger shark than the first. Jaws 3-D was 3-D, Jaws: The Revenge gave the shark a motive. Terminator II is a big budget version of the first. Rocky has more fights and wins more in the sequels. Batman, 1 villain, Batman Returns, 2 villains and an army of penguins. Batman & Robin, more toys, more gadgets. Airport involved the hijacking a standard jetliner; then Airpot'79: The Concord.
Friday the 13th Part II featured more kills than the previous.
Godfather Part II didn't try to outdo any key aspect to the first. In act, it was even more dramatic and less action-reliant.
Interestingly, not even the entourage in Part II were as interesting and charismatic as the original; the first had Clemenza, Tessio, Carlo, Moe Green and Sonny; Part II's Neri, Rocco, Pentangeli, Hyman Roth, and Hagen were bland by comparison.
The villains in II are more bland and forgettable than the first. Roth, Johnny Ola, compared to the fire and charm of Moe Green and Barzini. Fredo, an already existing character, becomes the new Carlo, and II fails to make us hate Fredo enough to earn his fate as the first did with Carlo.
The kills were even less interesting in II. In the original, who can forget the car explosion, McCluskey's death by gunshot in the restaurant, Moe Green's infamous shot to the eye, the revolving door, and the entire final gun showdown in itself. Part II's kills were forgettable: We see Pentangeli already dead by suicide, Fredo is shot off screen, and Roth's death was simplistic.
Michael had no character to play off of: He played off the cocky and impulsive Sonny in the original, and even Vito himself; he's all alone in II. Hagen has become Michael's pawn as opposed to a mentor.
Michael has become more cold and stone-hearted than ever before, where in the original he had a certain charm. Brando's Vito had a soft side, and we saw him carry emotion. Michael in II becomes emotionless, no personality, no apparent feelings.
But all this makes the movie better. All this was intentional. In Part Ii there are no characters to root for. Michael was an anti-heroin in the first; in II, he's neither a protagonist nor antagonist. In II we are no longer watching Godfather as a spectator, but we are seeing mafia life as they see it themselves, desensitized and bored with their surroundings: just another day for them. -
BlablaBlackSheep — 2 years ago(April 06, 2023 02:48 AM)
It’s also a prequel and a sequel at the same time. So we still get Don Vito and Clemenza returning. And the cast for young Vito, Tessio and Clemenza were excellent.
The movie does go bigger by showing Michael moving into politics and American business interests in Cuba. The movie works because it is not a copy of the first like most sequels
