In Defense Of “The Godfather Part III”

While not quite as great as its predecessors, the closing of Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola’s trilogy is far better than most are willing to admit

“Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part III isn’t just a disappointment, it’s a failure of heartbreaking proportions.”

- Hal Hinson, The Washington Post

If the popular narrative is to be believed, The Godfather Part III is an abhorrent film, one that has no redeeming qualities and is so awful that it brings shame upon not only the first two films of the series, but also to America and the entire human race.

In truth, it is neither as terrible as you remember or as awful as you have heard. It may not have the level of elegance of the first film or the dark intrigue of the second one, but it is still a fine film on its own, one that brings a unique viewpoint to the conclusion of the Corleone saga.

That’s not just hindsight, either. Upon its release, a fair number of critics praised it — both Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly and Mick LaSalle of The San Francisco Chronicle gave it perfect reviews and Roger Ebert gave it three-and-a-half stars out of four.