Mafia had never been this dark, deep, moody and absolutely arresting while Al Pacino delivers his supreme magnificence of his career in this Francis Ford Copolla once-in-a-lifetime haunting masterpiece. Never will the filmmakers could helm another Godfather movie, and even doing a remake could be downrightly foolish.
One of the most important films of all time, The Godfather II, isn't better than the first but comparatively on the same level. I loved the first one, and Copolla proved the world that he was a master of moods, dark crimes, atmosphere and brooding filmmaking. The Godfather II however is a film of equal greatness. And Al Pacino is worth every single scene in it. His exposition of Michael Corleone is phenomenal and he's very good in controlling emotions behind a very troubled and corrupt character. One figure that would haunt history as one of the most tragic characters of all time in movie history. Way back in The Godfather, we were presented with the family of Corleones, but we never knew the whole background. We got acquainted with Don Vito, as the supreme head of the powerful bloodline, and also with Michael Corleone, the best and brightest of Don Vito's sons. We knew the bits then that Don Vito chose Michael as his heir, even though he's the youngest sibling, he was chosen and that his father believed in him. But in The Godfather II, the once intelligent, the one who went into college and enlisted himself in the marines, became a cold and cruelly ruthless man, who never forgive disloyalty and a man obsessed with power. In this film, once again compellingly delivered, gives us a glimpse of how power corrupts a human being, and how it blinds one to forget the whole past.
The Corleone saga is at its triumph here, and so far, as I've known, of the best sequels in Hollywood history. What is actually awesome in this film was that it's both a sequel and at the same time, a prequel. It continues Michael Corleone's life a dominant figure of the family, the head of the mafia and continuing family traditions and business. His heart had grown colder every single year and even his estranged wife felt betrayed by all the sufferings they all are going through. Even his own brother, Michael condemns. Even his own wife, he abandons - all for the sake of power. And speaking of the prequel, it gives us the story of Don Vito, on his earlier life, played brilliantly by the younger Robert de Niro. We were able to know what his humble beginnings were and how he battled with mafias before, like the death of his own mother back in Sicily. We also know that he travelled to New York at the age of nine and was then acquainted by the powerful stronghold of violence in the faces of the streets he lived in.
Francis Ford Copolla handles the material very well, and it never flags like most sequels do. It has a very astounding narrative force and all the performances are stunning. Love this film, and as what was mentioned, Pacino made it a defining motion picture history.

Rating: A