Summary

• The Godfather Part III felt like an epilogue, not a full movie, lacking the depth and power of its predecessors.
• Sofia Coppola was miscast as Mary Corleone, leading to criticism and disappointment in her performance.
• The rushed script and overstuffed plotlines in The Godfather Part III hindered its ability to live up to the legacy of the first two films.

The first two Godfather movies have earned their place among the greatest films ever made, and sadly, The Godfather Part III could not live up to their legacy. After making movie history when The Godfather and The Godfather Part II both won Academy Awards for Best Picture, when the franchise returned after 16 years in 1990, it did not stack up against the reputation of its predecessors. With convoluted plotlines, miscast characters, and a rushed script, The Godfather Part III had many issues that meant it was forever doomed to be considered the weakest entry in the series.

Although Francis Ford Coppola’s recut version titled The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone went a long way toward correcting some of the theatrical edition’s faults, this was not enough to recontextualize it as equal in quality to the earlier movies. The Godfather Part III had plenty of issues, and even though there were many interesting concepts and engaging aspects to it, it could not live up to its lofty legacy. The Godfather Part III received some unfair criticism, but looking back on it today, it's clear many of the complaints aimed at it were justified.

10 The Godfather 3's Story Felt Like An Epilogue, Not A Full Movie

The Godfather 3 was more of a postscript

When comparing The Godfather Part III to its predecessors, one of the most striking issues was that it felt more like an epilogue to the story than a fully-fledged feature film. Unlike the previous entries' unmatched exploration of power, betrayal, and family dynamics, the third Godfather was more interested in tying up loose ends and reflecting on past events. This meant that although Part III had plenty of impactful moments, it could never live up to the astounding achievements of the first two films.

The Godfather Part III ended the saga of the Corleone family, and even Francis Ford Coppola repeatedly referred to it as an epilogue or coda. With this in mind, the Godfather series became a far more enjoyable experience if the first two movies were viewed as a duology and Part III as an epilogue. Repositioning The Godfather Part III within this context allowed for its more compelling aspects to be appreciated without harshly comparing it to the first two movies, which have long been in the running for status as among the greatest films ever made.

9 Sofia Coppola Was Miscast As Mary Corleone

The Godfather 3 almost had a different actress play Mary

One of the largest complaints posed at the lackluster reception to The Godfather Part III was that Sofia Coppola was woefully miscast as Mary Corleone, the daughter of Michael Corleone and Kay Adams. As director Francis Ford Coppola’s daughter, Sofia’s performance was critically panned, leading to some feeling she was only cast due to nepotism. Disappointingly, Coppola did not have the acting chops needed to pull off such a vital role, and her unsuitability for the part was apparent throughout the film.

To make matters worse, Coppola acted as a last-minute replacement for Winona Ryder, who had originally been cast as Mary. While viewers will never know if Ryder could have done a better job, based on her previously acclaimed performances and roles, an alternative universe with Ryder in that part feels far more appropriate. Ryder’s absence doomed The Godfather Part III and was just one of many compounding aspects that meant the film did not live up to the reputation of the previous two movies.

8 The Godfather 3 Needed Robert Duvall's Tom Hagen

The Godfather 3 almost had a different plotline

The character of Tom Hagen was one of the most significant in the first two Godfather movies, and many viewers felt he should have been the one to take over after the death of Vito Corleone. Once Michael became the head of the family, all hell broke loose, which led to the murder of Fredo and mounting tensions within the Italian mafia. As a viewer, it felt like things could have been much different with Hagen at the helm, and this conflict could have acted as a great storyline for The Godfather Part III.

This was actually the plan originally, but Hagen’s actor Robert Duvall butted heads with the studio over money issues. Although Duvall was reportedly offered $1 million to appear in The Godfather Part III, he took issue with Al Pacino’s $8 million payday, which meant negotiations broke down, and he was written out of the story. Sadly, Duvall’s absence was sorely felt, and those who love revising film history have long extolled that a confrontation between Michael Corleone and Tom Hagen would have helped elevate Part III to the level of its two predecessors.

7 The Godfather 3 Does Not Work As A Stand Alone Story

The Godfather 3 was reliant on the legacy of the previous films

One of the biggest reasons that the first two Godfather movies earned such an acclaimed place in film history was that, although they worked so well together, they were also excellent movies on their own merits. A major problem with The Godfather Part III was that it did not work well as a stand-alone story. While viewers could jump in on Part II and still become invested in the struggles of Michael Corleone and the flashbacks to his father’s rise in organized crime, without knowledge of these characters' arcs, The Godfather Part III does not make any sense.

The original Godfather was an incredible crime story, the likes of which cinema had never previously seen, and Part II can be seen as a dual narrative that tells the opposing and interconnected stories of a father and son. However, The Godfather Part III needs so much prior context that it becomes less like an independent movie and more like an extended add-on to what came before. Audiences should not be left scratching their heads or wishing they had watched a recap of another movie, and for this reason, Part III paled in comparison to the previous films.

6 Coppola Was No Longer At The Top Of His Game

The Godfather 3 was produced long after Coppola’s heyday

When Francis Ford Coppola made the first two films in The Godfather series, he was at the absolute top of his game as a filmmaker. Coppola was producing work with a level of artistry equal to the best filmmakers who ever lived, and this incredible confidence poured into every scene in The Godfather and Part II. Sadly, this was not the case for Part III, as Coppola was only convinced to make it in the first place because he had just suffered several box office bombs and needed something to establish his standing in Hollywood.

While the previous movies felt like stories that Coppola absolutely needed to tell on screen, his heart wasn’t in it for The Godfather Part III. Coppola believed that the first two films in the series had completed the story, but Paramount Pictures spent years trying to convince him to come back for another outing. While the first two Godfathers were produced out of a sense of artistic ion and creative energy, the circumstances under which The Godfather Part III was released were primarily financial.

5 Mary Corleone's Romance Subplot Was Uncomfortable

The Godfather 3 had an unnecessary incestuous romance

Looking back on The Godfather Part III, one subplot made for frankly uncomfortable viewing. Sofia Coppola’s portrayal of Mary Corleone got plenty of criticism, but the even worse part was her incestuous romance with her cousin Vincent Corleone. While there were allusions to the couple's romance being forbidden, looking back on The Godfather Part III, these were brushed over as mildly taboo instead of a truly shocking overstepping of boundaries.

As The Godfather Part III built toward its grand conclusion, the incestuous romance between Mary and Vincent appeared to be presented as a sad case of star-crossed lovers. However, as a viewer, this plotline felt miscalculated on every level, as it was impossible to get fully invested in the tragedy of its conclusion because of just how much it pushed against the ethics of familial relationships. While The Godfather Part III has been unfairly judged over the years, few would deny that this plotline was incredibly creepy.

4 The Godfather 3 Script Was Rushed

The Godfather 3 was written in just six weeks

While so many criticisms of The Godfather Part III relate to its casting decisions, the movie itself had a clarity issue caused by its rushed script. Although Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo requested six months to get their screenplay ready, Paramount shockingly gave them just six weeks (via Collider.) With an obligation to rush out a script that needed extra time, care, and attention, it’s no surprise that aspects of The Godfather Part III felt convoluted and dissatisfying.

A major reason The Godfather Part III didn’t live up to the other movies was that it was written with a high-pressure deadline looming in the background. Sadly, Coppola no longer had the clout needed to demand the freedom he and Puzo required to craft a script that was worthy of living up to two of the greatest films ever written. Unsurprisingly, The Godfather Part III didn’t live up to its predecessor's legacy, as its script was never given the chance to improve over further redrafts and rewrites.

3 The Absence Of Vito Corleone

The Godfather 3 lacked the one of its most important characters

The character arcs of Vito and Michael Corleone were the driving force behind much of the success of the first two Godfather movies. As a father-son story told over several decades, part of the appeal of The Godfather was watching Vito Corleone’s rise in the criminal underworld and seeing how that affected the next generation of his family. The first two Godfather movies were just as much about Vito as they were about Michael, and two career-defining performances from Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro helped make him one of cinema’s most enduring characters.

Although Vito’s memory loomed heavily over The Godfather Part III, the fact that his character was not included meant that the third entry paled in comparison to the previous two. The dual narrative of Part II helped give extra resonance to the failures of Michael as the new leader of the Corleone family, and this sense of thematic depth felt like it was missing from Part III. It makes sense that Francis Ford Coppola considered Part III more of an epilogue than a true third installment, as its second protagonist was missing from the story.

2 Al Pacino's Acting Style Had Changed A Lot Since The 1970s

The Godfather 3 featured a much different Pacino

From his work alone in the 1970s, Al Pacino earned his reputation as among the greatest actors ever. With astounding performances in movies like Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon, Pacino set a new standard for performers and, along with actors like Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson, became poster boys for the New Hollywood era of filmmaking. While Pacino’s work kept up a high standard in later years, by the time it got to the 1990s, his style had become far more abrasive and lacked the subtle nuances of Michael Corleone in the first two Godfather movies.

This change in style was noticeable in The Godfather Part III, and rather than truly embodying Michael’s character, there was a sense that audiences were witnessing Pacino imitating Michael. It had been 16 years since Pacino had played the character, and this level of distance had an impact. While that’s not to say that Pacino did a bad job as Michael in Part III, there was just something slightly off that meant it could not live up to the previous two movies.

1 The Godfather 3 Plotlines Were Overstuffed And Convoluted

The Godfather 3 should have been more streamlined

While the first two Godfather movies have received universal praise for their incredible pacing and masterfully balanced story arcs, the hard truth was that The Godfather Part III had overstuffed and convoluted plotlines. A major fault was that the sheer magnitude of subplots and intricate characters' relationships in Part III seemed to serve little purpose. The Godfather Part III attempted to tackle too many themes at once and, in the process, got bogged down under the weight of its own magnitude.

There was Michael Corleone’s quest for redemption, his corrupt dealings with the Vatican, his daughter's incestuous relationship, and a litany of other disted storylines. The Godfather Part III also introduced new primary characters, such as Vincent and Mary Corleone, whose motivations and arcs felt underdeveloped and, quite frankly, rushed. Sadly, The Godfather Part III was a lesson in wasted opportunities, and if its story had been streamlined and simplified a little bit more, it could have potentially stacked up against its predecessors.

Source: Collider