Who was a more evil man: Vito Corleone or Michael Corleone??

Luca Brasi v. Al Neri ?? That's like comparing Jango and Boba Fett !!

 

Great question...
Michael wins (IMO)

Vito grew up with Godfathers and violence as a fundamental part of his world.
Michael was different. He grew up sheltered from all that, he went off to college (didn't he?), the war and saw a whole different world.
He was progressive and modern. He knew the family business was morally wrong and inexcusable.
Despite that he got dragged into it at first, then stayed in it.

 

You know what? I don't think this question is as good as it appears. Everyone's said Michael!

 

Guess we've all got a soft spot for old Vito.

 

In his prime, I judge both of them to have been evil; Michael however, is seen to be the most malicious, having killed his brother, and a whole heapa people at the end of GF1.

However, although Vito did mellow out, it was because he was forced to. He couldn't avenge Sonny without risking interfamily war. In contrast, no matter how, um... sidetracked he may have gotten, Michael always wanted to clean up the Corleones, if only for Kay and the kids.

By death, both father and son had similarly suffered in losing a dear child, but look at the writing; Vito died in his newly-beloved garden, with his grandchild, in a relaxed lifestyle with all of his loved ones supporting him. Michael died old, alone, and without dignity; a pale shadow of his former self.

The most evil of the whole family, though, is of course, Jedi-Corleone.

 

Liz, are you serious? The book details just how ruthless and cunning Luca Brasi was. Brasi by a mile, I believe. Or perhaps I just don't know enough about Neri.

As for the most evil, I say neither. I do think Vito was the better of the two, and Michael's good intentions got twisted along the way.

 

I they were both evil. The question should be who was more merciful. They both had the same goals involving the family and the move to legitimacy, but what seperates them is that Mike's goal was to wipe out all of his enemy while Vito showed some mercy. Basically, you mess with the family or Mike, you get what was coming to you no matter what. The Turk, McClusky, five heads, Carlo, Fabrizzio, Roth, Ola and Fredo (in a way) all messed with the family/Mike and he evened it out on them. I mean, its business, not personal. Okay, Carlo and Fabrizzio were personal.