Is "The Godfather: Part II," the perfect sequel?

Consider This from NPR

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🗓️ 20 December 2024

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

Given the fact that it seems like Hollywood churns out nothing but sequels, you would think the industry would have perfected the genre by now.

Some sequels are pretty darn good, but many believe the perfect movie sequel came out 50 years ago this month.

Of course, we're talking about Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part II. It's not only considered the greatest sequel of all time, it's also considered one of the greatest movies of all time.

So why does Godfather II work, and where so many other sequels fall short?

NPR producer Marc Rivers weighs in.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I need you to trust me one last time.
0:09.8	Those words are spoken by Ethan Matthew Hunt, better known as Tom Cruise, at the end of the trailer for Mission Impossible, the final reckoning.
0:17.9	The movie, which hits screens next May, is the eighth, and you guessed it,
0:21.8	final installment in Cruz's Mission Impossible series.
0:25.9	The franchise first appeared on the movie screens back in 1996.
0:34.1	This tape was self-destruct in five seconds.
0:37.6	And across these almost three decades, Cruz's hunt has engaged in death-defying stunts,
0:42.7	like when he jumps off the top of a mountain on his motorcycle,
0:46.1	in Mission Impossible, Dead Reckoning.
0:50.2	Did you make it?
0:51.6	Are you okay?
0:52.5	I'm trying to get away from this, Belknack.
0:56.5	Or the time he hangs on the outside of a plane as it takes off in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation.
1:04.4	I'm on the plane.
1:05.8	Open the door.
1:06.5	How did you get in the plane?
1:07.5	Not near the plane.
1:08.9	I'm on the plane.
1:10.4	Open the door.
1:12.4	And he has appeared to have died no less than three times,
1:16.0	as he did in Mission Impossible, too.
1:18.4	No.
	...

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