--- title: "The Godfather Part III: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-godfather-part-iii/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-godfather-part-iii" critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 20 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Godfather Part III (1990): what the critics said Critics' score 68 from 20 reviews: 14 positive, 3 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics land somewhere between respect and relief. The reviews agree the film falls short of its two predecessors, but a clear majority still find it worth the evening, and many of those verdicts follow the 2020 recut, which is widely credited with a clearer first hour and a stronger ending. Praise clusters on Al Pacino, weary and remorseful as Michael, and on the craft: Gordon Willis’s photography, the scale of the Vatican set pieces, its operatic mournfulness. The reservations are consistent. Review after review, favourable or not, names Sofia Coppola’s casting as Mary as the flaw no edit can fix, and most find the Vatican conspiracy plot convoluted. The spread is wide, from raves to dismissal. The New Yorker, in 1991, finds the film lumbering and incoherent; Sight and Sound argues in 2020 that the recut adds confusion rather than clarity; Empire finds it a dreadful disappointment as a Godfather film, if fine as a gangster picture. ## The Hollywood Reporter — Duane Byrge Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 1990. The review calls the film a full-bodied though somber dramatic orchestration and a brilliant character study of Michael Corleone’s attempts at atonement and legitimacy. It singles out Al Pacino’s Oscar-caliber lead performance for particular praise while noting some confusion in the cross-cut finale. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/the-godfather-part-iii-review-1990-movie-1235739324/) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1989. The film matches its predecessors in narrative intensity, epic scope, socio-political analysis, physical beauty, and feeling for its characters and milieu, and is the most personal of the three for the director. Sofia Coppola’s casting in a key role is the main flaw. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1989/film/reviews/the-godfather-part-iii-1200428213/) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Rating 4/5. 4 December 2020. The recut clarifies motives and improves pacing in the first hour, vindicating the film and Sofia Coppola's performance after years of overstated scorn. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/godfather-coda-death-michael-corleone-review-coppola-fixes-greatest/) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 5 December 2020. The re-cut of The Godfather Part III offers redemption especially for Sofia Coppola's performance and makes the sprawling Mafia opus more invigorating overall. While it does not fully match the earlier films, the changes to beginning and end, along with strong turns from Pacino, make it worth revisiting. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-godfather-coda-the-death-of-michael-corleone) ## Financial Times — Danny Leigh Rating ★★★★☆. 3 December 2020. The restoration and discreet re-edit heighten the corporate Vatican deal and bring Darwinian self-knowledge to the fore in this recut of the finale. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/9b7d2c43-00e0-4a71-a0d2-64fd914b009f) ## Los Angeles Times Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 December 1990. The film does not achieve its towering goals and is a disappointment relative to the first two, yet it remains one of the year’s best American movies thanks to its high ensemble talent, gorgeous craft, and artistic ambition. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-23-ca-9701-story.html) ## Slant Magazine — Jake Cole Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2020. The review finds the Coda re-edit clarifies Part III as a bombastic yet ultimately insular morality play with a sharper focus on Michael’s conflict with a corrupt clergy and a stronger thematic close to the saga. It praises the restored cinematography and evocative central conflict while noting weaknesses in some performances. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-godfather-coda-blu-ray-review/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2020. The recut is worth watching as a revision of the original's choppy plot and Sofia Coppola's performance, though it remains stately and less vibrant than contemporary films like GoodFellas. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/dec/01/the-godfather-coda-the-death-of-michael-corleone-review-francis-ford-coppola-al-pacino) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 25 December 1990. The film is a valid and deeply moving continuation of the Corleone saga that holds out the possibility of redemption for Michael. It is more mournfully operatic than its predecessors and succeeds in making the characters' intervening decades feel consistent and lived-in. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/25/movies/review-film-the-corleones-try-to-go-straight-in-the-godfather-part-iii.html) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★☆. 4 December 2020. The sharper edit removes corny flashbacks and tightens the narrative for a more satisfying experience of the same Vatican-deal story. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/mario-puzos-the-godfather-coda-the-death-of-michael-corleone-1990-review-a-sharper-version-of-the-trilogys-finale-0kw35zxg7) ## Radio Times — Adrian Turner Rating 3/5. The third film is a distant relative of the masterpieces that preceded it, undermined by a bungled plot and mercenary origins, though Pacino and Garcia deliver strong performances. Sofia Coppola's inexperience in the key role of Mary further weakens the picture's impact. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-fhir5p/the-godfather-part-iii/) ## Sight and Sound — Michael Atkinson Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 4 December 2020. The re-edit of The Godfather Part III into Coda fails to redeem the 1990 film, resulting mainly in textual confusion rather than meaningful improvement. The critic highlights persistent issues with pacing, casting compromises and the screenplay's structural weaknesses despite some visual strengths from cinematographer Gordon Willis. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/godfather-part-iii-coda-death-michael-corleone-redux-re-edit-rejig) ## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 7 January 1991. The movie is lumbering and lacks coherence or the internal force of the earlier entries, though it is not a public humiliation. It feels like an unfinished, operatic exercise in grandiosity that reflects Coppola’s own exhaustion and depression more than the characters’ passions. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1991/01/14/vanity-vanities) ## Empire — Barry McIlheney Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. As a standalone film about hoods and a Vatican conspiracy it works fine, with strong lead performances and clever directorial touches. As the eagerly awaited third part of the Godfather saga, however, it is a dreadful disappointment that lacks the narrative strength, menace and epic sweep of its predecessors. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/godfather-part-iii-review/) ## The Playlist — Jason Bailey Rating A-. 1 December 2020. The changes improve the film into a fine and worthy conclusion, with better structure and standout performances like Pacino's. Some core problems, including Sofia Coppola's casting, persist despite the enhancements. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/godfather-part-iii-coda-recut-review-20201201/) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 8/10. 1 December 2020. The recut is largely the same but tighter, with Coppola's sharp direction and set pieces shining through. Pacino excels as a weary Michael, but casting flaws like Sofia Coppola's performance remain unfixable. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/578078/the-godfather-coda-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Adam Solomons Rating 4/5. 11 December 2020. The recut is a triumph that breathes new life into the film, with a stronger ending that frames the series profoundly. It remains inferior to the first two entries due to convoluted plotting and uneven performances. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-godfather-coda-the-death-of-michael-corleone-review/) ## Collider — Sam Barsanti Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 2025. The film is much better than its poor reputation suggests and is more fun than expected despite a convoluted plot. The critic singles out the absurd Vatican conspiracy storyline and the improved ending in the Coda cut for making the tragic conclusion more poignant. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-godfather-part-3-underrated-crime-epic-sofia-coppola-al-pacino/) ## NME — James McMahon Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 2 December 2020. The re-edit trims the fat and reworks the structure to give the story better finality and flow, making it a more entertaining and fitting conclusion than the original cut. It remains the weakest of the trilogy due to weaker story, performances, and script compared to the first two films. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/the-godfather-coda-the-death-of-michael-corleone-review-2830096) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2020. The re-edited version may be the best yet of the troubled third entry, but it remains overshadowed by its predecessors. Coppola's changes, including a stronger new opening and trimmed runtime, improve the pacing and focus, though issues like Sofia Coppola's performance and other flaws persist. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-godfather-coda-film-review-part-iii-coppola-al-pacino/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-godfather-part-iii.md