Audiences did not have to wait long for the third entry in the Back to the Future trilogy. Since Part II and III were filmed back-to-back, Part III was released only one year after Part II. Once again picking up immediately after the previous film, Marty and Doc find themselves on another thrilling and humorous time traveling adventure.Part II's abrupt ending showed the Delorean getting struck by lightening in 1955. Immediately after seeing the time machine zapped, Marty gets a 70 year old letter written by Doc delivered to him, informing him that the lightening bolt sent him back to the year 1885. In the letter, he informs Marty that he had hidden the time machine in a cave by a cemetery. There it would remain undisturbed for 70 years and would allow Marty to return to 1985. While retrieving the Delorean, Marty stumbles upon Doc's grave from 1885, indicating that he was shot and killed by Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Biff's ancestor) one week after he wrote the letter. Determined to save Doc from his fate, Marty takes the time machine back to 1885. Unfortunately, as soon as Marty goes back, the gas tank is ruptured. The time circuits are still functional and Mr. Fusion can still power the flux capacitor, but without gas the car cannot run and therefore cannot get up to 88 mph. So now, with time against them, Marty and Doc must find a way to move the time machine and return back to the future.
Personally, I enjoyed the change in scenery. The western setting certainly does make this film come off as the black sheep of the trilogy, but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. It still feels like an authentic entry and is very much a continuation/conclusion of the story arch. Since the first movies took place in 1955, seeing that again would have been kind of boring. The logical thing to do was to have the movie take place in a completely new era, and it might as well have been the 1800s. Besides, westerns are always fun, and that fun is implemented into the BTTF continuity quite well. The fish-out-of-water humor is quite amusing, and the way Marty and Doc interact and work in the time period adds to the enjoyability.
One thing I've always commended the Back to the Future series for doing is expanding the series' characters and settings. We've seen the Mcfly family, Biff, and a number of supporting characters portrayed through various time periods, ages, and alternate realiti
es. With the western setting, we not only see Hill Valley in its early years, but also many ancestors of the aforementioned characters. Biff's ancestor, Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen is the notorious outlaw and gunslinger of Hill Valley. Marty's relatives live on a farm on the outskirts of the town. We also, get glimpses of Mr. Strickland's (the disciplinarian from the high school) ancestor, who is the Marshall of Hill Valley. Seeing Hill Valley's origins and to see different incarnates of familiar characters is definitely part of what makes this movie enjoyable.
Personally, I enjoyed the change in scenery. The western setting certainly does make this film come off as the black sheep of the trilogy, but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. It still feels like an authentic entry and is very much a continuation/conclusion of the story arch. Since the first movies took place in 1955, seeing that again would have been kind of boring. The logical thing to do was to have the movie take place in a completely new era, and it might as well have been the 1800s. Besides, westerns are always fun, and that fun is implemented into the BTTF continuity quite well. The fish-out-of-water humor is quite amusing, and the way Marty and Doc interact and work in the time period adds to the enjoyability.
One thing I've always commended the Back to the Future series for doing is expanding the series' characters and settings. We've seen the Mcfly family, Biff, and a number of supporting characters portrayed through various time periods, ages, and alternate realiti
es. With the western setting, we not only see Hill Valley in its early years, but also many ancestors of the aforementioned characters. Biff's ancestor, Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen is the notorious outlaw and gunslinger of Hill Valley. Marty's relatives live on a farm on the outskirts of the town. We also, get glimpses of Mr. Strickland's (the disciplinarian from the high school) ancestor, who is the Marshall of Hill Valley. Seeing Hill Valley's origins and to see different incarnates of familiar characters is definitely part of what makes this movie enjoyable.The movie's main appeal is once again Doc and Marty. I've already explained why they're such an entertaining duo in my review of the first movie, so I won't go into that too much again. What is interesting about the two in this movie is that they have a bit of a role reversal. In the previous two films, Marty has generally been pretty careless and irresponsible about time travelling. Whether he's screwing up his parents' first meeting or trying to cheat at gambling, Marty has not always been too concerned about the risks of time travel. Now, Marty is a bit more cautious while Doc begins to let his guard down a little. As example of this, there's even an amusing moment when Doc and Marty switch catchphrases. Marty utters "Great Scott!" and Doc exclaims, "This is heavy!" Still, they do retain their personalities and core values but add just enough to their characters to keep the movie interesting.
One of the biggest changes the film made was the addition of a love interest for Doc. In fact, Doc gets the most character development out of everyone in the movie. Just like the first focused on Marty and the Mcfly's, the second focused more on Biff, the third movie belongs to Doc. Mary Steenburgen plays Clara Clayton, a school teacher whom Doc saves from a runway wagon that goes off a cliff. Unfortunately, this is where the movie's biggest faults lie. The romantic subplot is mediocre at best, and C
lara often comes off as little more than a third wheel in the overall story. On top of her character being somewhat flat, her character adds little more to the story other than some pointless drama and unoriginal plot devices. Steenburgen's acting is not necessarily bad though, if her character was better written I probably would have been more forgiving to the subplot. Its not the worst love story I've ever seen, and it does have a few mildly amusing scenes, but it seriously slows down the movie's pacing.
lara often comes off as little more than a third wheel in the overall story. On top of her character being somewhat flat, her character adds little more to the story other than some pointless drama and unoriginal plot devices. Steenburgen's acting is not necessarily bad though, if her character was better written I probably would have been more forgiving to the subplot. Its not the worst love story I've ever seen, and it does have a few mildly amusing scenes, but it seriously slows down the movie's pacing. Also, another few faults I find in this movie is once again a lack of originality. While I enjoyed the new setting and seeing the history of the town and characters was interesting, many of the new characters were fairly bland. Buford is essentially an angrier Biff. Seeing as he's once again played by Thomas F. Wilson, he is pretty much another dim-witted and ill tempered bully/villain. You also have the Mcfly family, Marshall Strickland, and a few others, many of whom conform to the typical western archetype but with a shred of their future-counterpart's personalities. It was fun seeing the new characters, but given the setting you would think the writers could have gotten a little more creative with them. Also, once again, the movie reuses many of the same gags and scenes from the first. There's another, "There there now" scene and Biff/Buford crashes into manure again. There is enough originality to keep the movie entertaining, but it definitely loses some points for the occasional lack of creativity.
When the love story isn't slowing the movie down, it is a lot of fun. When compared to the first, its definitely a step down, but still good. When compared to Part II, I think they're about equal. Part II had a bunch of little faults the hurt its score, while Part III has fewer faults but the one's it has are much more severe. Nonetheless, it still has a ton of hilarious lines and thrilling scenes. The finale alone makes this movie worth a watch. The way the movie ends can only be described as satisfying. It wraps up the story very nicely with no loose ends or cliffhangers.
Overall: A very fun movie and great ending to a great series. 3.5 out of 5!
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