THE SCHUMACHER SEQUEL NOT UP TO SCRATCH TO CHANGE

I never saw ‘The Godfather’ when it was originally released in 1972 – I was around 4 years old at the time – but I have watched it several times since. Not only has the film gone on to achieve legendary status – often ranked amongst any Top 5 movies of all time – but its cast of actors would do justice to any who’s who of greatest movie stars.

Two years later, I still wasn’t privy to watching any part of the sequel, yet many professional reviewers and millions of movie fans have in the intervening five decades declared ‘Godfather: Part II’ the greatest follow-up in movie history. With the addition of Robert De Niro to the cast, in place of the legend that was Marlon Brando, it wasn’t exactly a step back from the original A-list.

Now I didn’t see these epics till the mid to late 80’s and prior to this, I had fallen in love with ‘Star Wars’, when at nine years old my mother took me to the cinema where my imagination was overwhelmed by the sci-fi effects. In 1980, I headed by myself to see ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and in 1983, it was the turn of ‘Return of the Jedi’.

Of course, opinions on movies are very subjective. Suffice it to say, I never needed to read a critic’s opinion to feel vindicated in my views. Not only movies but music, art, travel, food, partners, sports stars – anything really.

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Still, I question, how many people are there that don’t see ‘Empire’ as the greatest chapter in the nine film ‘Star Wars’ saga? Or ‘The Dark Knight’ being the highlight of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

Yet the Godfather films were only ever planned as a duo. The third instalment, sixteen years later, was pushed by the film studio, not the director, Francis Ford Coppola, and it was generally panned in reviews. Possibly the biggest criticism offered was the role of Sofia Coppola, a minnow amongst an ocean of world class talent.

I’ve concluded, the point I’m making, if there is one, is that in over a century of movie making, there’s not many creations that have superseded their genesis. And yet forgoing their general cynicism, the collective F1 media has shown remarkable romanticism towards the son of legend Michael Schumacher. My opinion of this narrative has always been REALLY??