The film considered one of the best of all time, The Godfather.
Unfortunately for me, it was even a great film. It was average, nothing particularly special. I think in all the hype, a lot of people don’t like to say that’s its’s not actually that good. Unless I’m just alone here =P
I’ll start with the positives. Firstly the greatest positive, which was the acting. The acting in this film is indeed superior to many other films, especially from Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. Certainly many of the die hard fans use this as the reason for it being worthy of god status, but is this really enough to make it a good film? Not for me. The opening scene between Don Corleone and Bonasera was indeed wonderful, with some very serious acting from Brando. His domination in the scene is remarkable and you do feel the emotion in his dialogue, something he maintains throughout the film. Al Pacino also boasts a fantastic performance: his greatest strength being the silent threat he brings. You know he’s dangerous.
But that’s where the good bits end for me. The film was too long with too much riding on its good acting. About halfway I was growing bored, despite its attempts to keep me interested. Now I’ll admit I’m not a huge fan of gangster films anyway so you may think my review is flawed, but I honestly do not think that it was as exciting as some people make out. There was quite a lot going on and I didn’t much care for the characters. Most of them didn’t build any sort of connection with me, which I would say is crucial to do in any good film. In films like Aliens or Lord of the Rings the main reason you enjoy the film is that you feel for the characters.
This film could have been better, I recognise that it is a film to remember but that doesn’t mean it was enjoyable. I didn’t get any rush of emotion when something big happened and that is what I personally look for in a film. And that is what let me down and why I’m not in the same boat as a lot of people. Sorry if you don’t agree with me, feel free to discuss if you want. I know a lot of people are defensive about this film.
I definately can see why the films pacing took away from your enjoyment of the film, the first time I watched The Godfather I was in the same boat as you it dragged. But with every viewing of this movie I’m more blown away by the power of the acting as you said but also the power of the story. Michael Corleone’s story is the such a shakespearian like tragedy it’s crazy. I mean here’s a guy that got sucked into his life not because he was greedy and desired power (well at least not at first), he did it for the sake of his family. That was powerful stuff to me. Brando and Pacino are great, but the shining light in this film for me is actually James Cann’s performance as Sonny, he portrayed the role perfectly.