1. The Godfather 3
Honestly, I've always been baffled at how anyone could even begin to say that The Godfather 3 is anything other than an incredible film. It may not reach the heights of the first two but the first two are in the top 1% of all films ever made while the first Godfather is often called
the greatest American film ever made. I think the main problem that people had with the third entry was the overall tone of the film. The first film has a very moral tone with Brando's Don Corleone being the emotional center while the second film has an almost evil feeling to it with the emotional center being Al Pacino's Michael Corleone. The third film feels nothing like the first two since it features Michael trying to regain his lost humanity and leaving a life of evil. While this is generally regarded as the film's greatest weakness I think it is really the film's greatest strength. Michael's confession to having Fredo killed and his moment on the steps when Mary is killed are absolutely heartbreaking. The Godfather 3 works much better if you've seen the first two because it allows the viewer to see just how far Michael had fallen at the end of Godfather 2 and it lets the viewer see his punishment. The film plays out like a Greek tragedy told as a gangster film and perfectly honors the first two while being able to set itself apart as a brilliant close to the greatest trilogy ever made. Thanks for reading and if you have anything to add I'd love to hear it in the comments.