As there are so many characters in The Godfather who have stabbed their friends and family in the back to get to the top, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were all willing to do that quite literally. Though opponents who mostly don’t know each other are forced to go head-to-head in The Hunger Games, most of the characters in The Godfather are family, so it’s hard for it not to feel less like business and more personal.
But despite the characters being sadistic members of crime families, there are a surprising number of them who would be absolutely defenseless without their henchmen. However, at the same time, there are others who would feel right at home in the Hunger Games arena.
Fredo
Fredo is undeniably the least valuable member of the Corleone family when it comes to muscle and even intelligence. Vito’s oldest son was even neglected by the godfather himself, and in the one time he had the chance of doing something heroic by protecting his father from Sollozzo’s men, he dropped his gun on the floor in fear.
There is no way Fredo could last in the Hunger Games arena, as he’s just not built that way.
Carlo Rizzi
Carlo Rizzi thinks he’s a badass, and his affiliation to the Corleone family through being married to Connie is something he flaunts, but he’s nothing more than a woman beater and it’s all surface level.
And at the end of the day, it’s the way that Carlo treated Connie as to why he was not only beaten to a bloody pulp by Sonny but even choked to death at the end of the first movie. He even played the sympathy card when Michael called him out on his actions. Rizzi never showed that he had any kind of courage, and if he was in the arena, he would probably cowardly hide in the woods and pray that Sonny wasn’t behind him.
Tom
There’s no doubt that Tom is the smartest character in the entire gangster series, and if it wasn’t for him, the Corleone family would have burned so many bridges and wouldn’t have half of the power that it does. The character is level headed, educated, and he is perfect at handling almost any personality and cooling situations that might be about to get a little out of hand.
But without the ferocity that the other characters have, Tom’s education will only get him so far. Relative to the other characters, he is such a decent guy that clashing with Sonny is the worst thing Tom ever did, and when he was confronted by Sollozzo, he had never been so full of fear.
1910s Peter Clemenza
In the first movie, Peter Clemenza comes off as a fun uncle, teaching Michael how to make dinner and making fun of him being in love, but back in the 1910s, the character was depicted as a ruthless killer in The Godfather Part II. He was still the same wise-cracking joker, but Clemenza was literally willing to murder a cop that almost got in the way of him stealing a carpet.
And as he trained Michael how to murder, chances are he has a fair few hits under his belt. The character was a lot more trim back then than he was in the original too.
Luca Brasi
It takes a lot of looking to figure out who would and wouldn’t be great in the Hunger Games arena, as so many of the Godfather characters are calculated and get henchmen to do their bidding for them. But even some assassins that the Corleone family have on the payroll are no good.
Luca Brasi was choked with piano wire in the Tattaglia clubhouse, and he barely lasted two minutes. However, if it was the version of Luca found in the novel that would be entering the battle royale, it’d be a completely different story, as he’s one of the most feared men in the book.
Sollozzo
Sollozzo tried to dethrone the Corleone crime family using every contact he had, and he came close, as he went about picking off each member like it was a chess game. First, he took down Luca Brasi, and then almost even Vito himself, and Sollozzo had such an intricate and almost foolproof plan.
And though he never laid a finger on anyone himself, he was so menacing that even the Corleone family were scared to cross him. But Sollozzo’s biggest weakness is being so sure of himself, as though his plan was so comprehensive, the one minor detail he didn’t think about is exactly how he ended up getting shot in the head by Michael.
1910s Vito
Marlon Brando is the reason many view the original as better than Part II, but it isn’t exactly fair to pit his depiction of Vito Corleone against everyone else, as he was 67 years old in the first movie.
However, given that Part II sees Vito building his olive oil empire, a much younger, more lean version of the character would fare much better in the Hunger Games. There’s a spring in his step, he’s motivated, and he’s a ruthless killer in the 1910s. Not only that, but he’s inventive too, as he murdered Fanucci using a shotgun with a makeshift silencer.
Michael
Michael is more like his father’s rival than his actual father, as he’s manipulative and vindictive, just like Sollozzo, and Michael is consumed with getting revenge. That flare would work well when battling it out in The Hunger Games, as his ruthlessness and willingness to turn on even his own family is toxic, but it’s the perfect mindset to have for the competition.
And out of all of the Corleone family, Michael was the only one to ever get the job done himself, as he shot Sollozzo and McCluskey, a corrupt cop, at such close range.
Sonny
Out of the four Corleone brothers, Sonny is the most unpredictable, as the first time viewers even see the hothead, he’s destroying a photographer’s camera at Connie’s wedding. And though when he got slaughtered at the toll booth in one of the most tragic deaths in the series, he had shown how brawny and susceptive to violence he was.
Sonny had clearly grown up watching his father go about his business in a much closer way than Fredo or Michael. And given that he beat Carlo to a bloody pulp with nothing more than a trash can lid, he can get creative with his surroundings more than any other character too.
Vincent
Though a select few believe that The Godfather Part III is better than Part II, one of the best parts about the third movie is the introduction of Vincent, Sonny’s long lost child. Vincent has so much of his father in him, and despite never meeting him, it’s strange how alike their personalities are.
Just like Sonny, Vincent is a hothead, but even more than Sonny, Vincent is an incredible fighter. Being able to take down two armed burglars while in his dressing gown is a skill that no other character in the series could match to when it comes to combat.