Editing The Godfather Part III (section)

====Original film (1990)====
[[File:Sofia Coppola Cannes 2013.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sofia Coppola]] in 2013; her performance in the film was panned by critics.]]

Common criticisms of ''The Godfather Part III'' focused on Sofia Coppola's acting, the convoluted plot, and the film's inadequacy as a "stand-alone" story.<ref>[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/20079/The-Godfather-Part-III/overview New York Times] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308162556/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/20079/The-Godfather-Part-III/overview |date=March 8, 2013 }} Retrieved March 2009; ''The Godfather Part III (1990)''</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/12/books/12book.html |title=You Think You're Out, but They Try to Pull You Back In |first=Michiko |last=Kakutani |date=November 12, 2004 |access-date=August 22, 2013 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=May 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528044307/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/12/books/12book.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 66% based on 68 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "The final installment of ''The Godfather'' saga recalls its predecessors' power when it's strictly business, but underwhelming performances and confused tonality brings less closure to the Corleone story."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godfather_part_iii/|title=The Godfather, Part III (1990)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date= June 16, 2023 |archive-date=May 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517183628/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godfather_part_iii/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the film a [[weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average score]] of 60 out of 100, based on 19 critics, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/godfatherpart3 | title = The Godfather: Part III Reviews | work = [[Metacritic]] | access-date = August 10, 2011 | archive-date = July 27, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100727070621/http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/godfatherpart3 | url-status = live }}</ref> Opening day audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B+" on a [[Academic grading in the United States|scale of A+ to F]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemascore.com|title=Find CinemaScore|format=Type "Godfather" in the search box|publisher=[[CinemaScore]]|access-date=April 4, 2020|archive-date=January 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102130540/https://www.cinemascore.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In his review, [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' stated that it is "not even possible to understand this film without knowing the first two". Nonetheless, Ebert wrote an enthusiastic review, awarding the film three-and-a-half stars out of four. He also defended the casting of Sofia Coppola, who he felt was not miscast, stating, "There is no way to predict what kind of performance [[Francis Ford Coppola]] might have obtained from [[Winona Ryder]], the experienced and talented young actress, who was originally set to play this role. But I think Sofia Coppola brings a quality of her own to Mary Corleone. A certain up-front vulnerability and simplicity that I think are appropriate and right for the role."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-godfather-part-iii-1990 |title=The Godfather, Part III Movie Review (1990) |first=Roger |last=Ebert |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=December 25, 1990 |access-date=August 22, 2013 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185136/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-godfather-part-iii-1990 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ebert's colleague, [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' also gave the film high praise and placed it tenth in his list of the ten best films of 1990. Siskel admitted that the ending was the film's weakest part, citing Al Pacino's makeup as very poor. He also said, "[Another] problem is the casting of Sofia Coppola, who is out of her acting league here. She's supposed to be Andy Garcia's love interest but no sparks fly. He's more like her babysitter." In response to Ebert's defense of Coppola, Siskel said, "I know what you're saying about her being sort of natural and not the polished bombshell, and that would've been wrong. There is one, a photographer in the picture, who takes care of that role, but at the same time, I don't think it's explained why [Vincent] really comes onto her, unless this guy is the most venal, craven guy, but look who he's playing around with. He's playing around with the Godfather's daughter."

[[Leonard Maltin]], giving the film three out of four, stated that it is "masterfully told", but that casting Sofia Coppola was an "almost-fatal flaw".<ref name="2009Maltin">{{cite book|first=Leonard|last=Maltin|author-link=Leonard Maltin|title=Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide|publisher=Penguin Group|location=New York City|date=2009|isbn=978-0-452-28978-9|page=530|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6EgPDierNGUC&q=casting+Sofia+Coppola+was+an+%22almost-fatal+flaw.%22&pg=PA530}}</ref> [[James Berardinelli]] gave the film a positive review, awarding it three-and-a-half stars out of four.<ref>[https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/godfather-part-iii-the Godfather Part III movie review by James Berardinelli] reelviews.net</ref> [[John Simon (critic)|John Simon]] of the ''[[National Review]]'' described the film as "a tedious effort to flog an old hippopotamus into action".<ref>{{cite book |title=John Simon on Film: Criticism 1982-2001|last1=Simon|first1=John |publisher=Applause Books |year=2005 |page=197}}</ref>