Had a friend rave about The Godfather being the best movie ever made... finally watched it and I don't get the hype

I watched The Godfather for the first time last Friday after my buddy at work kept saying it's the pinnacle of cinema. I sat through the whole three hours and honestly, I was bored for most of it. The pacing felt way too slow for me, like nothing really happens for long stretches between the famous scenes. Maybe I'm just used to modern storytelling, but I couldn't connect with any of the characters enough to care about their gangster drama. I get that it's a classic and the acting is solid, but calling it the best ever feels like everyone just agreed on that years ago and nobody questions it. Has anyone else had a similar experience with a movie that's supposed to be a masterpiece but just fell flat for you?

2 comments

2 Comments

drew_patel573d ago

Sat through it too last year and yeah it dragged for me at first. @kevin_martin I actually felt the same about Sopranos until I tried watching it with the commentary track on. That flipped it for me. With The Godfather, what worked was watching it like a slow burn character study instead of thinking it would be action packed. I zeroed in on how michael changes from the quiet brother to the cold boss. That shift hooked me more than any shootout.

kevin_martin3d ago

Does that mean you also think The Sopranos is overrated? I watched five episodes and gave up, felt like I was watching a boring guy go to therapy.