Sonny

I think Sonny was alot smarter in the book than in the movie...In the book when Tom was talking about how he never totally stopped Sonny's military actions because they worked...yes they were a little to over the top but I don't think he got enough credit in the movie. And like when Vincent came in and he was just a Santino stereo type. I don't know, what do you guys think

But, also in the novel, Sonny tells Michael, "I know I'm not the man he [Vito] was. But I'll tell you this, and he'll tell you, too. When it comes to real action, I can operate as good as anybody, short range." [emphasis added.] Yeah, maybe Sonny was good leading battles. But he was no great strategist.

In simple action (get a gun and shoot the most) he was very good. And he totally didn't was a strategist. After the killing attempt on Vito he only thought about revenge and killing Sollozzo. He hardly didn't think about the consequences (this was the job for Tom Hagen, he was the consiglieri). And I don't see why he was smarter in the book.(?) There is no other info he was. The book doesn't say anything about it. For example: Did you read that Sonny made a good plan before starting the action. In the movie he went to Carlo after he heard from the beating of Connie. He just drove away with in mind he should get that bastard. When he made a plan he could possibly have seen that there could be something behind it and thus save his own life.

Sonny was really hot-headed and he let his rage take over. He was a good action man but his temper was far too short to become a Don

As Vito said, he was a terrible Don, rest-in-piece.

Santino was, as said before, much too headstrong to be a Don, although if he would've listened to Tom, and they had cooperated, there could've been potential there.

After his apparent attack on on some of his enemies the Novel describes Sonny as a brilliant tactacian guy.

I just read the book for the first time, and I was struck at how Sonny was held in less esteem by Vito and Tom. You get a whiff of that in the movie, but much more so in the book...

The scene with the boiler "inspectors" and Sonny was very revealing that respect, FR. As Puzo put it: "He [Sonny] was the club, not the rapier."