MovieChat Forums > The Godfather Part III (1990) Discussion > Question about the hit **Spoilers**

Question about the hit Spoilers

posted 9 years ago by mood_flow
2 replies | jump to latest

Was the assassin meant to kill Sofia at the end or does he miss aiming at Michael?

Up until i watched the movie again today i always thought the hit was on Sofia as it would break down Michael and his family. Michael also says to Vincent that "when they come at you..they come at what you love". in addition, we never hear from Altobello's mouth who the target is when he hires the assassin. The assassin was known to never fail and he has a clear shot from short range outside the theater on the stairs.

However we clearly see him aiming at Michael in the opera with the rifle and while this could be considered an attempt to mislead the viewer to believe he is the target not to spoil the ending; the assassin does not aim or shoot Sofia when Michael leaves the theater for a short while to get updates on the situation at the Vatican (Sofia still in her seat). This could be because the assassin was specifically asked to kill her in front of him.

Was Michael wounded by the first shot, making him turn around so that the subsequent shot misses and kills Sofia?

thanks for thoughts

[–] Tamino-Muth 9 years ago

I thought it was meant to be Michael and I always read it like that by others. It's also described like this in Wikipedia :-)

[–] tx3089 8 years ago

I think in the end he just missed the shot.
He was having to conceal the weapon and hold it at an odd angle that just might make it plausible as to why he missed the shot. That scene was pretty rough to watch. Michael worked so hard to try and keep the family safe....