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Well, I've finally gotten around to seeing this one. The story starts off in 1969, when a young boy finds a magical board game, that sucks him into a jungle world. Twenty-six years later, he is released from the game by two kids and he is now an adult (Robin Williams). However, the kids also release an assortment of African animals, as well as a dangerous hunter. Williams, the two kids and Williams' old playmate (Bonnie Hunt) must finish the game to set things back in order.When I saw the advertisements for this film, I thought it was going to be an enjoyable fun film. But the movie is actually pretty grim, dark and sinister for a film made for kids. The special effects are all right, but the animals don't seem very realistic. Williams is the only good thing about this film. His usual childlike persona is subdued, so he comes off more distinctive than he does in any of his other films.
One other thing! This doesn't have the feel of a children's film. When you leave the theaters, you feel like you just went on a trip through hell.
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One of the greatest epics of all time, Coppola's story traces the violent life and times of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and his powerful family. The film also tracks the rise of Brando's heir, Michael (Al Pacino) from a gentle man, who wants nothing to do with his family, to one of the most cunning, ruthless and cold-blooded men ever to come on the screen. Other great characters include Michael's two brothers, the cowardly Fredo (John Cazale) and the hot-tempered Sonny (James Caan) and the adopted brother (Robert Duvall) who is the consigliari (lawyer) of the Don's empire. Some famous scenes include the horse-head scene, the gunning-down of Sonny and, of course, Brando's famous promise of making somebody an offer they can't refuse.What can I say. Great stars like Pacino, Brando, Caan, Diane Keaton, Sterling Hayden, Talia Shire and Duvall giving some of the best performances of their career, a fantastic screenplay based upon Mario Puzo's novel and excellent direction by Coppola, make this a compelling film all the way through. It's like a Martin Scorsese film in a way. The story is about people you don't ever want to meet and yet the filmaker makes it interesting enough that you do care for some of the characters. I'd have to say that a film with Brando and Pacino has got to be an interesting film.
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There are few times when a sequel is better than the original film that spawned it. This film is one of those exceptions. Now the epic story of the Corleone family picks up with Michael's (Al Pacino) Mafia empire expanding to Nevada and Cuba and traces the early days of Pacino's father, Vito (now played by Robert De Niro), his rise from a orphan in Italy to a hood in New York and his position as a respected Don. The movie constantly flashes between both Dons and the dangerous and brutal lifes they lead.Coppola did it again. He made an interesting film that, in many ways, outdid the first film. De Niro's engaging performance as the old Don brings back memories of Brando's outstanding acting from the first story. It's too bad De Niro and Pacino never got a chance to act together in this one, instead of Heat.
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Coppola finishes up the famous trilogy with an absorbing, if not altogether outstanding entry in the series. Michael (Al Pacino) is growing old and wants to get out of the Mafia life. Many people, including his psychotic nephew (Andy Garcia), keep pulling him back in. The film begins and ends the same way as the other two. It begins at a lavish party and ends with an international slaughter of the Corleone's enemies.Beautiful Italian scenery, good performances by the cast (including Garcia, who is an even better actor than Pacino) and the usual assortment of offers you can't refuse, make this a tantalizing film to watch. The near-fatal flaw is the miscasting of Coppola's daughter Sofia in the pivotal role of Pacino's daughter. It's basically the old story of daddy's little girl getting what she wants. What she gave us was an awful melodramatic performance, that would make even her own father walk out of the theater and ask for his money back. Fortunately, she's not in very many scenes and it's basically Pacino and Garcia and the other cast members' show all the way.
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