'The Godfather: Part II' directed by Francis Ford Coppola

This film is overlong, dull, and full of deeply unsympathetic characters.

Yet, I can understand the appeal of The Godfather: Part II despite being far more partial to the original Godfather which is a much more tightly scripted and better characterised drama.

The tale of Michael Corleone's rise to prominence is one that burns slowly as the film shapes a man who is desperately trying to retain control of a criminal empire that is constantly slipping through his fingers. With a casual, carefree attitude to brutality, he sets about dismantling his enemies in government and his rivals on the streets. This thoroughly depressing amoral crusade is aided by the underlings that his father Vito has left behind.

Al Pacino does a wonderful job as Michael and it is easy to see why this film made his name. His performance consists of a range of facial expressions that move from bleak to terrifying. The delivery of his lines is wrought with the anger and fear that characterises the man. In particular, his scenes with John Cazale (Michael's brother Fredo Corleone) have a level of mutual contempt that is rare in any film.

Nonetheless, I did not find myself being hooked by this story. This is a man who lacks any sense of decency or respect for anyone but himself, covering it loosely with some vague and empty notion of 'family' which he regularly ignores when it suits him. Frankly, it left me cold.

More interesting was Robert De Niro's subplot as the younger Vito Corleone. At least in Vito's case, we get some impression of why he ended up as head of a criminal enterprise. Motivated partly by the death of his Mother, his actions at least have some kind of foundation in his experiences.

De Niro's Vito wears a permanent half smile, reminiscent of Marlon Brando's performance in The Godfather. His section of the story has greater depth to it and offers a backstory that is far more believable of a typical crime lord. At times, it is possible to see a trace of humanity in De Niro's portrayal, something which cannot be said of almost any of the other characters in the film.

And that is the main concern that I had whilst watching it. I could hardly relate on any level to any of the characters. None of them possess any form of backbone, courage or fortitude. None of them have to struggle - they simply kill their way out of their problems.

For that reason alone, not to mention the unbearably long running time (3 hours and 20 minutes) this film did not do anything for me. There are some fine performances in it and Coppola's direction is interesting. Nonetheless, it does not have the lightness of touch that makes The Godfather a better film.

If you have not seen it, then it is an interesting watch for the performances of Pacino and De Niro alone but it is far, far too pleased with itself and it is a film that is profoundly overrated.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the photograph used for this article and will remove it at the request of the rights holder.