I really don't buy the popular notion that Michael is dragged kicking and screaming into the family business.

When he reaches the point of no return - the killings of McCluskey and Sollozzo - the family is very much intact. Vito is recovering, Sonny is alive, and Tom remains consigliere.

I'm not disputing that there were possible reasons for Michael to make the choice he did (fear for his father's life, lack of confidence in Sonny & Tom, etc.). But it was a CHOICE. It was not fate. Nothing was thrust upon him.

Like all of us, he had many layers and contradictions. But his choices show that, at the core, he was a cold-blooded man and chose a path that suited his nature.