The first two movies had some glaring weak spots as well.....most of them involving Talia Shire.
Sophia Coppola was a disaster - a lot of Andy Garcia was a disaster as well. The scene where the son sings is a little creepy, as well.
There's a very good movie in there somewhere, it just needed better casting and a tighter edit.
Agree. I think the biggest problem with the first two movies is the source material in which every female character is either a nagging harpy (Kay), a whiny brat (Connie), one of the random slags that Sonny is banging, or an idolized epitome of virtue (Mama and Appalonia). Puzo wrote the Godfather to be horribly sexist and FFC actually tones it way down for the first two movies. By the end of the second movie, Kay actually becomes a semi-real person, whereas no such character exists in the book. One of the good parts about III is there is no source material to work with, so the women characters end up better written (if not necessarily better acted).
The other problem I have is the magical endings where Michael snaps his fingers and everyone disappears. The baptism scene is so cool because it is so coldblooded. It is also kind of idiotic. If it was this easy to kill Michael's enemies, why didn't he just do it earlier? And the way they kill Hyman Roth in II is so ridiculous it ruins what is otherwise almost a perfect film.
I liked Garcia in III. The scene where Zaza's men break into his apartment is awesome. Sending Bridget Fonda out was brilliant and captures the character perfectly. Lucchesi was a great adversary, as was the Cardinal and the Swiss banker guy. I actually thought, right up until the end, that Michael was going to lose.
It really comes down to Coppola. She had a squeaky whiny voice and kept flicking her hair. She also leaves her mouth half open in most of the reaction shots, which makes her just look like she is stupid. She can't cry. How did an actress that can't cry on command get a part in a movie like this? That is her job. I know I was not the only one in the theater that was relieved she was killed at the end and not Vincent or Michael. I can't believe I am saying this, but if it really came down to Sofia Coppola or Madonna to play the daughter, FFC should have picked Madonna. It probably would have been considered one of the best movies ever.