I don't think THE GODFATHER PART III is so terrible

Vulture says G3 is getting a rerelease in theaters: " In honor of the film’s 30th anniversary, this edit of The Godfather Part III will feature some exciting new punctuation and will be called Mario Puzo’s THE GODFATHER, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, according to a press release from Paramount Pictures."

I love the Godfather pictures -- I'm a middle-aged white guy, and I've only recently come to realize how much that makes me a cliche -- and my dirty secret is I don't think Part III is actually that bad.

Don't get me wrong: Pacino is way over the top in this movie. I would love to know how the silent Michael Corleone of the 1950s became the shouty guy of the late 1970s, but I suspect that's more a Pacino thing than a story thing.

That said, it has all the elements of a potentially great Part III:

* A young up-and-comer who wants to carry on the family legacy, even though...

* The king, who turned to a life of crime to protect his family, wants to get out of crime...

* ...and ends up sacrificing his family, the people he loves, because of the choices he made throughout his life.

It's a tragedy, man. And the end -- Corleone's death, set to Cavlleria Rusticana -- is wonderful. No assassination. Just death, coming for the king as it comes for us all:


It's beautiful. And imperfect. The new edit probably can't salvage Pacino's performance -- but maybe it can find the better movie I know is lurking within.

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