Is Godfather 2 better than the original Godfather?

No

I think of them as one long movie. I can't separate them.

I think godfather 1 is the better overall movie but the flashback scenes with young Vito in godfather 2 are my favorite parts in either of the movies

What makes GFII slightly inferior to GFI, IMHO, is the opening few minutes in Lake Tahoe and most of (not all) the Miami/Cuba stuff.

However, the best scene in either movie is Michael and Fredo in the sun room of the Lake Tahoe compound. John Cazale should have gotten the Oscar for just that scene alone. He made Pacino look like an extra in that scene.

I loved the Miami/Cuba scenes just because of this The business we've chosen

The best scene of the series IMHO.

I always thought the consensus among sequels was...(and at least I grew up hearing this) -

Better sequels than original...and Godfather was always mentioned...always, along with Empire Strikes Back.

Ranking is based on how much better the sequel was compared to the original...not how great the sequel is.

1. Star Trek, The Wrath of Khan
2. The Road Warrior
3. Aliens
4. Empire Strikes Back
5. Godfather Part II

It's in the pantheon of movies where the sequel is better...but it's not SO much better...its razor thin.

While Star Trek Wrath of Khan is light years ahead of the original and Road Warrior kicks Mad Max's arse.

I always liked the longer timeline version. You don't see it often, but it starts with young Vito and works up to Michael's rise. I just found a copy on Ebay and plan to convert the VHS to DVD.

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In contrast, the Michael story in GF II has none. He starts out as an ice-cold mafia don, and ends that way. The only difference is along the way he gets disappointed/betrayed by various people close to him.

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You can also interpret that as Michael learning that the old ways, the romanticized and almost epic feel of the Corleone family he grew up in are going away. This isn't Don Vito's Mafia, and his family isn't going to be gathering for the jovial family dinners and camaraderie that characterized Don Vito's patriarchy. At the beginning, he still thinks he can have what his father had. That Kay will eventually be like his mother, that his kids will be like him and his brothers, all bound closely. He learns it's a new world, and even his rosy memories of his family grow tainted, with one brother already dead and another brother betraying him. He had a man killed in I at least in part because the man disrespected his family. And Fredo, who he told clearly to never go against family, betrays everything Michael believed about his childhood. He can no longer sit comfortably and benevolently on the throne like his father did. This contrasts with the world Don Vito grew up in, which is why the flashbacks are so significant. Not just for their own sake, but as commentary on Michael's arc and the loss of the sense of community that Don Vito had growing up in a tight-knit, almost provincial, time and place. Michael is expanding into Vegas, Cuba, and he gradually loses contact with his roots. He may start out cold, but he does grow more and more disillusioned. That's a significant character arc.

I...uh...I am a fan of the first two movies. Does it show?

On a side note is GFIII really that bad or does it just seem bad because I and II are so good?