Metacritic Film

Godfather: Part II, The

Starring Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Lee Strasberg, and Michael V. Gazzo

MPAA RATING: R

Paramount Pictures
Crime  |  Drama
200 minutes | Color
USA
Released In Theaters December 12, 1974

The sequel to "The Godfather" continues the saga of two generations of successive power within the Corleone family. Coppola tells two stories in Part II: the roots and rise of a young Don Vito, played with uncanny ability by Robert De Niro, and the ascension of Michael (Al Pacino) as the new Don. (Paramount)

WRITTEN BY
Mario Puzo (also novel)
Francis Ford Coppola

DIRECTED BY
Francis Ford Coppola

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

71 / 100

Critic Reviews

100 Empire
And with supporting roles from the likes of Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall and Lee Strasberg, to say nothing of Roger Corman and Harry Dean Stanton in bit parts, this is nothing short of magisterial.
100 ReelViews
As the beginning of Part II echoes the opening of "The Godfather," so too does the end. Because of the manner in which circumstances are handled and considering the people involved, the impact here is more forceful. The tragic flaw has accomplished its poisonous, inevitable designs. Coppola punctuates both movies with a gut-twisting exclamation point.
100 TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)
Cinematographer Willis superbly captures the turn-of-the-century period, applying a seriographic tint to flashback scenes for a softer, richer look than the sharp image of the ongoing contemporary story.
90 Variety Staff (Not Credited)
Al Pacino again is outstanding as Michael Corleone, successor to crime family leadership.
70 Chicago Reader Don Drucker
Three hours and 20 minutes of Al Pacino suffering openly, Robert Duvall suffering silently, Diane Keaton suffering noisily, and (every so often) Robert De Niro suffering good-naturedly is almost too much, but Francis Ford Coppola pulls it off in grand style.
40 The New York Times
The only remarkable thing about Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Part II is the insistent manner in which it recalls how much better his original film was...Even if Part II were a lot more cohesive, revealing, and exciting than it is, it probably would have run the risk of appearing to be the self-parody it now seems.

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