But if there's something that always amazes me in the trilogy is its capacity of surprising me even after... what?... 20 visits? 30? Sometimes, it's a minor insight about its structure - as when I first realized that in the first two films Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) has to tell his Don about the death of a child (in Part I, that of Santino to Don Vito; in Part II, about Kay's abortion to Don Michael). Sometimes, it's a realization regarding the particular relevance of an specific moment (I've written in my blog about how I consider Santino's line to Sollozzo "Whoa, now, you're telling me that the Tattaglias guarantee our investment without...?" as the most important one in the whole trilogy).

I think James Caan's performance is the most underrated part of GF1&2. That said, I've always thought he misread the line about the Tataglia guarantee. Before I read the book, I thought Sonny was expessing skepticism more than eagerness.