The Godfather: Part II is superior to the first film. Nothing falls asleep like the original, and the double story is a brilliant conceit that allows for new depth. It's more vague, stuck in the story, and not just a fictional, stand-alone story. The Godfather: Part II is a story without boundaries, spanning decades, time frames, and without beginning or end. It is richer, smarter, and more complex than The Godfather, bringing real history, from the Cuban Revolution to Senate hearings and ancient immigration protocols, to contextualize The Godfather saga as the great American epic. The long, carefully considered takes are bolder and more incredible than the first film. Al Pacino delivers perhaps the best performance ever nominated for best actor. The Godfather is a masterpiece that I love, but Part II is bigger and better and truly special.
The Godfather: Part II is the story of two men and their descent into evil. Yet they have very different stories. The son receives success and simply has to maintain it. The father came from nothing and had to earn everything. There are two kinds of America. There is America where an immigrant can rise to wealth, legally or otherwise. There is also America where people are born lucky and have all the power. In both stories, America is encapsulated. The criminal actions in The Godfather: Part II are merely an extension of the legitimate economic power played in society. The film shows politicians as the companions of crime, presenting legitimate and illegitimate power is interconnected. While the mafia thrives in legality, the twisted and corrupt behaviors never die.
The Godfather: Part II is perfectly paced, giving each of its stories plenty of time to develop in each of its segments. The rich, textured colors create so much character, with brown, gray, and black building a serious story tapestry. The prequel scenes dive fully into the intricacies and details of the Italian immigrant subculture. The sequel scenes are mostly sitting and talking, but the blocking and body language and even the chairs are all so telling. This is a mythical, multi-generational story. A boy crossed the Atlantic and nearly sixty years later his son is master of an empire. Yet doing so has created the most impure soul in the world. The Godfather: Part II tells the darker story. Michael, a man of honor at the beginning of the first film, ends up here sitting alone in the shadows.