Francis Ford Coppola

After finally watching Part III, I decided to give that essay a watch and it strikes me as mostly rambling BS. The film isn't held as a failure because it doesn't match the original films or because audiences wanted a more conventional crime story, it's a failure because it squanders a plethora of interesting drama in favour of a dull and boring storyline. The idea of an aged and withered Michael just trying to make peace with Kay and deal with his own sin is a great one, but it's never capitalized on the way it should be. Also, while I'm up for seeing a weaker and more vulnerable Michael, it should feel like a natural transition not an entirely new character. I also found the lack of Tom Hagen to be inexcusable. This series is all about Michael's relationship with his siblings (particularly his brothers) and you can see the seeds of conflict being planted between the two in Part I and II. Without Tom, there's no reason to bother with a sequel or epilogue. Beyond narrative and thematic complaints, the film's visual style is a clear step down. Gone is the rich and vibrant cinematography of the 70s, in its place is a relatively bland and dull aesthetic (with the exception of a few shots). Also, Sofia Coppola is awful in that film. Awful. I don't entirely blame her as the character is written horribly, but she certainly doesn't help. Making her character central to the ending was a big mistake. Speaking of endings, I found the end here to be really weak. Again, the idea of is a good one, but it comes at the end of a story which has added virtually nothing to the saga and as such feels totally unearned.

And then you've got some ridiculous elements, like the helicopter assassination and the fucking incest plot. Hell, even moving beyond the incest, why the hell was Mary so hot for Vincent. She makes a tearful love plea to him near the end for little reason, and from the beginning she's all over him.