"The Godfather"

I hate reviewing classic movies, since most have a reputation and I feel like I'm not an actual moviegoer/critic if I don't like the classics or give them a certain rating. Anyway, I finally got to see The Godfather. I was a little disappointed, but I still liked it.

In Francis Ford Coppola's Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Al Pacino plays Michael Corleone, son of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), a famous family mafia. The film goes through their various escapades as a crime family.

I really, really enjoyed watching The Godfather. The almost-three-hour runtime seemed to fly by. I was enthralled by the sincerity of the acting and the horrible true-to-life feel of the film. All of the acting was dead-on, although some of the screaming could have been a little better. With up-and-coming stars at the time such as Al Pacino, how can you go wrong?

However, with all movies, they can't be perfect. The film could, or should, have had more plot to it. I know it's supposed to be "a day in the life of" type movie, but if it had been with one adventure for most of the way it would have helped. Also, there were lots of supporting characters who we can't remember about for three hours. If that wasn't enough, all of the characters looked like either tall or fat white men with thick Italian accents, making them hard to understand (and of course I had to rent the VHS version so I couldn't read subtitles). More towards the end, I couldn't tell who was on whose side. The ending could have been trimmed down a little; the last half hour or so seemed to actually be boring and not very exciting. Maybe Coppola put it in there so the movie could have the designation of being "one of those long classics".

I was surprised about how little strong language there was for a crime movie like this. I would have guessed all the characters to be swearin' like a sailor, but I was surprised. The amount of blood didn't surprise me, but I commend Coppola for putting so much in.

Pacino looked like he does now, minus bags under his eyes. Brando gained about 200 pounds after The Godfather. And, Abe Vigoda looks exactly the same as he did thirty years ago. Yes, that's right. Abe Vigoda is in this movie. Hurray!

The Godfather is an entertaining movie that is overrated but still fun to watch as three hours pass.

Rated R for strong violence, blood, brief nudity, and constant but mainly minor profanity.

Review Date: November 16, 2002