Do we like them?

Do we like Michael Corleone?

A character from The Godfather (1972)

Our score: 3 out of 10. We'd admire him early on, but we wouldn't back him. He's loyal and clever, and he gives up almost everything good about himself for power.

Michael is the youngest son of Don Vito Corleone, head of a powerful New York crime family. He comes home from World War II as a decorated Marine. He is bright and charming, and he insists he is not like the rest of his family. The film opens at his sister's wedding, where he tells his girlfriend Kay about the family's dealings from a safe distance.

What makes him compelling is his intelligence and calm. He watches, plans and keeps his temper in check, which is why the family comes to rely on him. His love for his father and his loyalty to his relatives are real. But the story keeps showing how that loyalty justifies choices that are harder and colder each time.

A crisis in the family pulls him into the business he swore to avoid. He takes his first violent step, and from then on he rises quickly. He becomes more powerful, more secretive and more isolated, and he treats even those closest to him as threats. The film plays this as a tragedy: he wins nearly everything he sets out to win and loses the person he used to be. That is why we give him a low score despite his early appeal.