The Godfather: Part II
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: December 12, 1974 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
90
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The GuardianPeter Bradshaw
It is even better than the first film, and has the greatest single final scene in Hollywood history, a real coup de cinéma. Read full review
100
New York Daily NewsKathleen Carroll
The Godfather PART II is the most ambitious American movie in terms of size and scope in recent memory. It goes much deeper than “The Godfather” in analyzing the twisted mentalities of these men who pervert the capitalist system for their own gain. The film is richer in texture and gives more evidence of social awareness. Read full review
100
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
When superfans speak of the superiority of The Godfather Part II, this is not merely to be contrary. Coppola took Mario Puzo’s pulp and darkened it with Nixonian paranoia and the power of political back rooms. Read full review
100
IGNR.L. Shaffer
If the first film could be considered to glorify violence and organized crime, this one shows the consequences of that life. It also serves as a thinly veiled metaphor for American capitalism and its destructive effect on family, cultural heritage, community identity and morality. Read full review
100
CineVueDaniel Green
Combining the director’s key interests in dysfunctional family units, social stratification and the seething undercurrent of violence inherent in all positions of power, Coppola’s mafia sequel not only succeeded in dwarfing its still terrific predecessor in terms of drama and scope, but also brought together De Niro and Pacino on screen for the first (but thankfully not the last) time. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
This magnificent 1974 sequel, the centerpiece of Coppola and writer Mario Puzo's 20th Century gangster saga, is still one of the most ambitious and brilliantly executed American films, a landmark work from one of Hollywood's top cinema eras. Read full review
100
The New YorkerPauline Kael
The daring of Part II is that it enlarges the scope and deepens the meaning of the first film. Visually, Part II is far more completely beautiful than the fist, just as it's thematically richer, more shadowed, fuller.
100
Time Out LondonTom Huddleston
This is quite simply one of the saddest movies ever made, a tale of loss, grief and absolute loneliness, an unflinching stare into the darkest moral abyss. Read full review
100
Total FilmKevin Harley
The plotting is elliptical and the sweep intoxicates, but the contrast between De Niro’s meditative Vito and Pacino’s soul-starved eyes brings piercing focus to Coppola’s resonating study of corrupting power. Read full review
100
EmpireKim Newman
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. Read full review
100
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
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. Read full review
100
TV Guide MagazineStaff (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. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterJohn H. Dorr
It is neither a very happy or driving picture. But it is intellectually daring and marks an important breakthrough in the growing up of the Hollywood film. Read full review
90
TimeRichard Schickel
This is a much colder film, with austere aspirations — not fully realized — to transcend its melodramatic origins and to become an authentic tragedy. … As Michael plots his careful, lethal moves, the recurring, unforgettable image is of his eyes growing colder, until they finally go dead to the horrors around him. Read full review
90
VarietyStaff [Not Credited]
Al Pacino again is outstanding as Michael Corleone, successor to crime family leadership. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Coppola is unable to draw all this together and make it work on the level of simple, absorbing narrative. The stunning text of "The Godfather" is replaced in Part II with prologues, epilogues, footnotes, and good intentions. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderDon 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. Read full review
40
The New York TimesVincent Canby
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. Read full review
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