Bayflicks.net

Not many sequels are better than the original, especially when the original is a masterpiece. Yet this combination prequel and sequel surpasses The Godfather–no mean feat. By juxtaposing the rise of Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando in the first film, a young Robert De Niro here) with the moral fall of his son Michael (Al Pacino), Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola show us how the decision a seemingly good man makes to care for his family will eventually destroy the very people he loves.