THE GODFATHER: PART II (1974) *** Robert Duvall is, if it's possible, even better than in the original. Robert De Niro is at least brilliant, he is the master of silent and invisible unrestrained psychological terror broiling beneath. Al Pacino is credible in a role that no one else could play better, despite being dealt a few situations that defy belief. Francis Ford Coppola shoots incredible scenes, and even more somehow manages to shoot the internal decay of elegance. The incidental music is tremendous, and the original theme still efffective when occasionally referenced. But...as good as many of the individual scenes were the flashing back and forward and telling two stories at once, just because the father and son characters are the same age apparently, just didn't work for me. Where the brilliant leads were surrounded by often equally brilliant actors in the original the support here is only good. The tale continues to be impressive and scary, and draws sympathy in increasing abundance, but there's nothing left of that intangible characteristic that invoked utter awe. Coppola isn't following a formula, but he's breaking out a lot of familiar elements (most notably Catholocism and violence, and the effort to once again deliver a closing montage of historic power and a terrible violent beauty).
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