The story of father and son
The success of the first film about gangster wars and its popularity led to the imminent creation of the second film of the future trilogy. The same team gathered again to continue the history of the Corleone family. Now Michael stood at its head, calculating and intelligent, bold and unshakable.
The second film, of course, is remembered for the fact that the legendary Marlon Brando is no longer in it. However, the work shows us a new genius. And his name is Robert De Niro. The actor plays a young Vito Corleone and the path of his formation. And although in the first frames you clearly realize that the actors are absolutely not similar to each other, over time this idea is lost, because De Niro perfectly fits into the image. His game doesn't look like a parody. The actor fits perfectly into the narrative. Probably, thanks to the storyline where Robert appears, this film is my favorite in the entire franchise.
The second part shows us two story arcs developing in parallel. In one, we see Michael Corleone continuing his father's path, leading his clan. In the other, as mentioned above, the young Vito Corleone goes through his path of becoming.
Al Pacino as Michael looks great again. He vividly demonstrates how it is not easy for his hero to stay in the center of unfolding events, including conflicts with other families, pressure from the police and personal life.
The picture perfectly demonstrates how cruel the world of criminals is. Let them wear suits, pretend to be decent family men, their inner world is very dark. And behind the luxury lurks fears and cruelty. One competes with the other and at the same time coexists together. Otherwise, as if, nothing.
The further the story goes, the scarier Corleone becomes. It seems that he loses touch with reality and the continuing deaths lead him, it seems, to the top, but at the same time they destroy the man in him, the soldier with whom he once returned home, the man his wife fell in love with. This is how a monster is born that will not tolerate competition and is ready to hold on to power, rising higher and higher, stepping over mountains of corpses.
Two parallel stories show similar worlds for father and son. The film clearly demonstrates how power dulls people's feelings, makes them cruel, impenetrable, and makes their families cry. And even at such moments, the main characters do not really think about what kind of people they have become, since their loved ones are indignant. But it seems that the simplest answer for them is to fight for the family, all for the sake of the family. I don't know if they believe in their own words.
The visual range, music, acting, shooting — everything is at the highest level. Francis Ford Coppola remains true to himself and makes a high-quality action movie, psychological drama, thriller for the viewer. His vision and corporate identity are easily recognizable and readable. Unhurried, sometimes even somewhat phlegmatic, narration, muted colors, unexpected plot twists — all this allows you to enjoy an excellent quality film.
Now it's a classic. But the classics that are still on the hearing, the work that rooted the genre of the gangster saga and became an example for future works of followers. It is unlikely that after 50 years the film will be remembered if it has not sunk into the soul, which means that this is a good movie.
9 out of 10