I took a curious path heading towards this movie. I saw Part I, for the first time, a couple of months ago, saw part III about a month ago, and finally Part II just this past week. The Godfather Part II is of course better than Part III in so many ways, but the first one will always be the superior. Now, I have to say though, that I really didn't find the movie as strong as the original, and I'm surprised that so many people think they're both equal when clearly they're not. II starts to suffer from over-bloatedness (which III had in spades). I wasn't involved in the Robert Deniro backstory as some people, I was somewhat groaning when we were going back in time.. But in the present time, like when Al Pacino is on the screen, THAT I enjoyed. I think Pacino is at his best here, since he knows the character so well. Keaton and all the rest of them are great too. Oh and Robert Duvall. Can't get enough of Duvall either as Tom Hagen, who actually, by far, is my favorite of all the characters in the Godfather movies.