While the first movie had a lot of freshness and intensity, this movie is explaining the rise of Vito and Michael with more detail and explanation, so that it is taking a much longer breathing to say it. The mixture of past and present may work for some, but it didn't work for me. I had the feeling the film was repeating itself constantly with past and present, even when the scenes with Vito Corleone weren't that good and a bit too cliché and strangely comical. I don't understand why this film is rated to high.