Of the 52 films I've arranged to watch this year, only one sequel managed to crack the list. For all of the snooty reasons why film critics and "best film"-list creators dismiss franchises, the biggest reason is that I've seen most of the "great sequels"--Empire Strikes Back, T2: Judgement Day, The Dark Knight, The Two Towers, Wrath of Khan--the list goes on. But this would be my first pass at The Godfather, Part II (the first film to even call itself "two", making sequel history, apparently).
I'm going to throw my hat in with the folks who say that Part II is 'a great film that almost matches the original', but it doesn't quite get there for me. I love the effort and craft in telling two interwoven stories, but I didn't find it as original as the online consensus makes it out to be. In fact, it's precisely the inverted character arcs that occurred in the first film, just in reverse (and all the more clunky for not occurring in real time).
Still, it remains a great film and, if not for its original, would be the reigning champ. Telling this character story amidst the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution was ambitious and De Niro's scenes made murder look as charming as it gets. Finally, Pacino remains freakin' brilliant. While the first film was an ensemble effort, Pacino more lopsidedly carried this one, showing off more acting chops as he depicts Michael coming apart at the edges.
More than Part I, this film cements the Godfather story as a true "American Tale" and continues to play with your ability to root for anybody. And for that, I applaud Coppola and now rank both Part I and II higher than Captain E.O. in my "favorite Coppola films" list.