Upon his father's death, Michael succeeds him as the don of the Corleone crime family. In June 2003, Michael Corleone was recognized as the 11th most iconic villain in film history by the American Film Institute, although some critics consider him to be a tragic hero.
Michael Corleone - 'The Godfather: Part II' (1974)
While Michael was seen as one of the more levelheaded members of the family, the sequel (and the third film) portray his downfall as he becomes a ruthless killer and crime lord.
The data were then analyzed through a descriptive qualitative method to obtain deeper explanation and understanding. The result shows that the novel portrays Michael Corleone as an antihero for having the identical characteristics of an antihero proposed by Wilson et al.
Michael: He Was More Ruthless
While Vito preferred to reason issues out with his enemies, Michael had them killed. In the first movie, viewers got a sense of just how ruthless Michael was when he killed McCluskey and Solozzo in a diner for being involved in his father's shooting.
Fredo is weaker and less intelligent than his brothers, and so has little power or status within the Corleone crime family.
Described as the child Italian parents prayed to the saints for, Fredo was the weakest and least intelligent of the Corleone brothers; his own brother, Michael, dismissed him as weak and stupid.
Emilio "The Wolf" Barzini is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and in its 1972 film adaptation, in which he is portrayed by Richard Conte. The Barzini crime family was inspired by the Genovese crime family.
Michael tries to turn the family into a legitimate enterprise, but his ruthlessness and obsession with revenge keeps him in the criminal underworld - and ultimately destroys his family and his life.
Because a group of men threatened Michael's father, Vito Corleone, and the well-being of the Corleone Family. As much as Michael had always dreamed of a life outside the underworld, he was loyal to his father and his family.
In The Godfather II, Vito Corleone chooses his younger son, Michael, instead of his older son, Fredo, as his successor. This decision is based on Michael's intelligence and ability. Fredo, who is considered weak, is dismissed to do more menial tasks for the family.
Michael is cold-blooded, ruthless, smart, and determined. His ability to think clearly under fire, to be decisive, and to command respect makes him an excellent Godfather. Of Vito's children, he is certainly the best candidate to take over the family.
I always liked him." ―Salvatore Tessio[src] Salvatore "Sal" Tessio was one of Don Vito Corleone's most trusted friends and caporegimes, ruling over the Corleone family's territory in Brooklyn. A Sicilian born youth raised in New York, Tessio married his wife Lucille in 1908.
He is uncomfortable with people. Even his relationship with his father and his wife and kids is uneasy, perhaps even cold. Michael doesn't smile much for a reason. Many would call Michael a psychopath for the ruthless murders of his adversaries, but his actions, though brutal, are those of a sociopath.
Of course, it is at this moment that Michael realizes it was Fredo who betrayed him to Hyman Roth, as in the previous scene Fredo pretended to have just met Johnny. However, there is much more going on in this exchange than simply calling back to Fredo's response to Johnny in the previous scene.
The Godfather Part II
Roth secretly plans to assassinate Michael, partly to avenge Moe Greene's murder (as depicted in The Godfather). Roth instructs Ola to befriend Michael's brother Fredo, who provides Ola (and Roth) information about Michael that enables them to make an attempt on his life.
His fall as a mob boss in the second film, coupled with his inability to keep his family united, forces me to sympathize with his story as a tragedy (especially when it's presented next to Vito's origin story). In my opinion, a good parallel for Michael would be Creon from Sophocles' Antigone.
Michael is the third son of Vito Corleone, and he takes over the role of godfather when his father retires. Originally Michael is not involved in the family business, although he is aware of what the business is. Before Michael became Don, he held almost opposite ideals than did his family.
Killing Carlo
Carlo is another person who probably got what he deserved but it further cemented the fact that Michael sold his soul when he took over the family. Carlo was Connie's abusive husband who sold out Sonny to the rival gangs, resulting in his murder.
Within days of becoming godfather, Michael was able to eliminate all 5 of the other crime families in one single day through a military style, multi theatre coordinated attack. After this "hit", Michael became sole godfather of all of America.
Vincent, deviating from his predecessors' moral code, would have entered the family into the drug trade, driving the Corleone clan back into corruption and eventual decline and ending with his being killed similarly to Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Vito oversees a business founded on gambling, bootlegging, prostitution, and union corruption, but he is known as a kind, generous man who lives by a strict moral code of loyalty to friends and, above all, family.
Luca Brasi is Don Vito Corleone's personal enforcer, and the only man Vito himself fears. While slow-witted and brutish, Brasi is fiercely loyal and has a reputation as a savage and remorseless killer.
Clemenza. No one was more loyal to the Corleone Crime Family than the first capo, Clemenza.
Orson Welles - Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather (1972)
Marlon Brando was always Francis Ford Coppola's first choice for the role of Don Vito Corleone.
- Michael is a Sociopath (Antisocial Personality Disorder)
- There is a high potential that during his childhood development Michael saw some of the mafia business and thus was preconditioned to be more oblivious to the damage it was causing.