In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.
In this brilliantly sustained climax, Coppola unveils a vision of corruption that embraces the entire world, but he's also reveling in sheer theatrical magic in a way that only a master can.
90
Variety
Unnamed
Part III matches its predecessors in narrative intensity, epic scope, socio-political analysis, physical beauty and deep feeling for its characters and milieu.
88
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
It's strange how the earlier movies fill in the gaps left by this one, and answer the questions. It is, I suspect, not even possible to understand this film without knowing the first two, and yet, knowing them, Part III works better than it should.
88
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
One of the most obvious problems with The Godfather Part III is that it covers little new territory. The plot is highly derivative of the original.
80
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
A provocative and stirring climax to the Corleone saga, as well as an autonomous work that sometimes shows Coppola at his near best.