Do you include Part III in the saga?

I'm not going to exclude a canonical sequel, but it's a very flawed film if not a bad one. Two main complaints:

1. Way too much going on. The first two films had a lot of characters but they all fit snuggly into their respective storylines. Part III on the other hand feels overstuffed from start to finish. Besides Michael's decline and abortive redemption, you've also got Vincent's maturation, the romance, the Vatican bank stuff, gang war with Joey Zasa, Don Altobello... way too many players cluttering up the story, most given superficial treatment at best. And they tie together messily, at best.

2. The violence is extremely over-the-top. Vincent biting Zasa's ear off ten minutes into the movie, for one. The helicopter massacre is ridiculous. The final settling of accounts goes on way too long, unlike the original's baptism and the second film's briefer montage. I did like Vincent's hit on Zasa, there the stylization worked. There's no impact to any of the killings, just flashy bloodshed. It's less a Godfather movie than an action film with Coppola grace notes.

That said, Godfather III has enough good things to recommend a watch: Pacino's at the top of his game, most of the supporting cast is good (with an obvious exception), Coppola's direction is mostly good, Michael's scenes with Kay and confession to the Cardinal are excellent, the finale is heartbreaking. But it's a mixed bag at best, an ambitious failure at worst.

I'm afraid that you underestimate the number of subjects in which I take an interest!

For now I do. I've only seen it once, and while the tonal shift was incredibly jarring at first, the film turned out to be not-so-bad and was pretty watchable and is sitting pretty well with me after the fact. I think I'm looking forward to watching it again just as much as I do with the others, albeit for vastly different reasons.

Currently, I hold no animosity towards it, nor do I have any reason to.

The movie is called "Godfather" and it continues the story of Michael and his family, so... it's part of the canon whether you like it or not. :p Personally, I prefer to think that the events of Part III never happened (except for maybe the cousin lovin' he he).


Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

Part III sucks, I watched it again after 10 or so years and realized its excessively worse than I remembered. Nothing about the
Movie redeemable, it's like a bad TV soap opera. Remarkably mediocre sequel to some of the greatest films of all time, and the worst part is it feels like such a cash in. You couldn't even pay me to watch it again. If I got a box set of the trilogy, I'd just throw the third disc away and pretend like it doesn't exist.

Coming off the heels of the first two, it's embarrassing to watch even by myself. It's just a dog of a movie that coasts on the influence if the originals. Without them it wouldn't even be talked about or remembered today.

~ I'm a 21st century man and I don't wanna be here.

No.

When theres no more room in Hollywood, remakes shall walk the Earth.

I pretend it ends with Part II. Part III had potential but I hated the extended opera scenes along with Sofia Coppola.

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine

We can make a parallel between the trilogy and the Corleone brothers:

- The Godfather is like Sonny : fierce, brutal, yet tender and good-hearted, it's entertaining and deep in the same time. And we all just love 'Sonny' ...

- The Godfather Part II is Michael : deeper, darker, smoother, yes, even 'boring' sometimes, but it's more implacable and ruthless ... we can't love it with the same intensity as the first opus, but we respect the cinematic achievement, and it leaves us with an extraordinary feeling. It's not the most entertaining, but certainly the most fascinating.

And of course ...

- The Godfather Part III is Fredo : it tries too much, it has a good heart but it's weak and even sometimes 'stupid' but hey, it's still a blood brother of the first two films, we still feel Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola's touch and it features some heartbreaking moments, like Michael's silent scream. Some magnetism was lacking from the very start, but can we really hate 'Fredo'?

I'm sure those who prefer the first film also appreciate the last one and those who love the second film and think it's the best one, identify so much with Michael that they hate "Part III", with the same intensity and severity Michael expressed towards Fredo. They don't forgive any mistake ... and consider the last film a disgrace for the trilogy, and symbolically disown it.

Darth Vader is scary and I  The Godfather

For me it's optional. If I watch Part I it's pretty much a given that I'll watch Part II soon afterwards, whereas I may or may not continue to Part III.