The Godfather Review (Non-Analytical Version 9.6/10)

We enter into the film in darkness. All we hear is the plea of a broken man sickened with rage and disgust towards the legal system. When the judge and the jury are dead to those that desire help, the godfather stands ready to give justice. As we pull out we see more into the dimly lit business room and peer through the eyes of the highly esteemed Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). Vito is the brains behind the operation, the hands behind the action, and also the face behind the masque of Red Death. If any oppose Red Death he shall give them "an offer they can't refuse."

Vito and his new client exit from the darkened business room and into the light. Outside we see the fruits of the Corleone clan. There is a wedding with dancing, drinking, a large and unnecessary cake (like most weddings have), and Italian festivities. Through the course of the wedding we see Sonny (James Caan), Fredo (John Cazale), and Michael (Al Pacino) Corleone—or Vito’s three sons.

After all the festivities and all the joy and happiness and backdoor dealing we see a new face in town. He’s a narcotics dealer that goes by the name of Sollozzo (Al Lettieri). The narcotics dealer comes to Vito in hopes of money and protection. When Vito says that narcotics is a dirty business, there is bad blood and whenever there is bad blood there is sure to be blood. Hopes collide, gun fights come about, and a war erupts between the other families within the cities. All question the style of leadership Vito has and the only question left for the Corleone family is “What is the legacy of the clan going to look like?”

My personal opinion of this movie is that although the movie is wonderful but overhyped. There are many scenes that are well known that really didn’t impact me the way it seemed to have impacted everyone else. To me, the most beautiful part of the movie was the fade in towards the beginning but the iconic scene in [i]Godfather[/i] is the part where the horse head shows up at the end of the bed or the shooting scene near the end where there’s background music. The next part of this movie that strikes me as wonderful is the way the screenwriter reveals Vito and Michael to the audience. But there are some characters that feel so flat that we can’t connect. I feel like the lack of connection with Connie (Talia Shire) makes the audience not be able to connect with her when we should be connecting with her the most (or connecting with one of the brothers the most afterwards).

I would definitely recommend this movie but I would say go into the movie with an open mind and don’t expect the greatest movie of all time that will blow your mind and send it just bowing at it because it’s just that good. It’s a great movie and if you like action, gore, and don’t mind a little verbal jousting then this is just the movie for you (there’s even a cute romance subplot to boot).

Final rating: 9.6/10