"Revenge is a dish best served cold": Michael doesn't always follow that cliché, but at the end he does. When he shoots McCluskey and Sollozzo, he's not really serving it cold. But when he slaughters all of his and the family's enemies at the end, totally cleaning house, he's really living up to the cliché.
Usually, movies about revenge make revenge look like a pretty messy process: It doesn't work out the way you'd expect or hope. In this case, though, we don't really get to see the aftermath of Michael's final massacre—The Godfather Part II will show the possibly messy implications of all that. But we do see how revenge and violence are cyclical. For example, Carlo beats his wife, which leads Sonny to beat him up, which leads Carlo to help plot Sonny's death, which leads Michael to murder Carlo at the end.
Questions about Revenge
- In The Godfather, does revenge ultimately seem to work out for Michael? If so, how stable is it? Can his enemies still come back to get him?
- Can revenge ever work out and just be totally satisfying? Or is there always something wrong with it? Explain your reasoning.
- What would compel you to seek revenge? Would you ever feel compelled to seek revenge?
Chew on This
"The best revenge is massive success."—Frank Sinatra
"The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury."—Marcus Aurelius