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MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
258 .......................... 295
__________________________
October 23rd
—— 1990 ——
—— adventure ——
PART III
REWATCH
So, if you thought the first follow-up felt a bit tacked on, unwanted and unwarranted for,
then this final entry in the ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy surely puts itself on a wanted poster
of wrong moves within the movie business
In all honesty, I was more than fine with the first film being a standalone affair, but despite a lot of problems, the first sequel saved itself from sinking by being entertaining, while pushing the envelope even further in many aspects, technical and script-wise, for better and for worse. This one is also envelope-pushing, but only in terms of story-centered set ups, since it starts out where the second film ended, which sees Marty receive an envelope with a letter from Doc and how he is doomed to a destiny of certain death… Anyways, in many ways, you could call this callback to the lost times of cowboys and Indians an intriguing set up and simultaneously a smart way to sidetrack itself from falling into all too familiar territory for the third time in a row. Because time travel can get tiring with time, especially if you keep on crossing the same story and cutting through the same events over and over and putting on the cowboy hat was a welcome western change...
Unfortunately, director Robert Zemeckis seemed to sit on his high horse way too much throughout most of this movie – and being filmed back to back with 'Back to the Future Part II' might have been a bad decision as well – resulting in a clouded vision without a new and fresh directorial angle to film from. He might have ridden right by the same old setting, with a century or more, but everything else is all too familiar to feel fresh or seriously fun throughout. The way this film plays out comes off dustier than the setting itself and older than the period of which this film is set in. Marty, and especially Doc, repeats their catchphrases more commonly than what feels comfortable and it feels more like a forced fan service than a forwarding of any plot or character. The only reason I can actually ride this one out myself, is because of the small glimpses of something greater combined with some characters who do feel worn out and barely worth it, but thankfully they are still played by the likable duo of Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, who admittedly can do a lot better than this. Essentially, this period piece has turned into a parody piece and all the actors and actresses playing "dress up" with their family roots is beginning to feel frantic and fatal for the franchise. Everything is knocked up another notch and Zemeckis ultimately finds himself in a knot after putting himself on the ropes way too much with this one.
Frankly, I remember really loving this entry on first watch, but I sure have no idea what I ever saw in this film to begin with. Granted, Zemeckis did have a train of thought that resulted in the entertaining and exciting finale on the train tracks, trying to reach 88 miles per hour before they fall into the canyon. I feel like the movie began to pick up a bit when we got closer to the climax. The rest felt foolish and forgettable in a story that felt more like a stumble than a structuring of an actual plot; a compilation of character moments and major plot points in the first two films, now rehashed and rewritten for a new setting. It worked okay in the first sequel, but this sure ain't no two-trick pony... The first one was a prancing idea, which had the first sequel barely holding on to its predecessor… and now, with a third film, the story is basically dragging its own characters and story behind, quite literally, in a dusty and dated mess of a movie that just have me eager to go back to the future and out of this disaster. I have to say, Zemeckis really is a rootin' tootin' tool for trashing this franchise the way he did. He may see himself as a son-of-gun with some seriously slangin', but in my eyes he was seriously slacking and shooting loose powder through most of the runtime. And honestly, this franchise ran out of steam already by the second film and making a third one I think Zemeckis is just shooting himself in both feet at this point...
__________________________
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
258 .......................... 295
__________________________
October 23rd
—— 1990 ——
—— adventure ——
PART III
REWATCH
So, if you thought the first follow-up felt a bit tacked on, unwanted and unwarranted for,
then this final entry in the ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy surely puts itself on a wanted poster
of wrong moves within the movie business
In all honesty, I was more than fine with the first film being a standalone affair, but despite a lot of problems, the first sequel saved itself from sinking by being entertaining, while pushing the envelope even further in many aspects, technical and script-wise, for better and for worse. This one is also envelope-pushing, but only in terms of story-centered set ups, since it starts out where the second film ended, which sees Marty receive an envelope with a letter from Doc and how he is doomed to a destiny of certain death… Anyways, in many ways, you could call this callback to the lost times of cowboys and Indians an intriguing set up and simultaneously a smart way to sidetrack itself from falling into all too familiar territory for the third time in a row. Because time travel can get tiring with time, especially if you keep on crossing the same story and cutting through the same events over and over and putting on the cowboy hat was a welcome western change...
Unfortunately, director Robert Zemeckis seemed to sit on his high horse way too much throughout most of this movie – and being filmed back to back with 'Back to the Future Part II' might have been a bad decision as well – resulting in a clouded vision without a new and fresh directorial angle to film from. He might have ridden right by the same old setting, with a century or more, but everything else is all too familiar to feel fresh or seriously fun throughout. The way this film plays out comes off dustier than the setting itself and older than the period of which this film is set in. Marty, and especially Doc, repeats their catchphrases more commonly than what feels comfortable and it feels more like a forced fan service than a forwarding of any plot or character. The only reason I can actually ride this one out myself, is because of the small glimpses of something greater combined with some characters who do feel worn out and barely worth it, but thankfully they are still played by the likable duo of Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, who admittedly can do a lot better than this. Essentially, this period piece has turned into a parody piece and all the actors and actresses playing "dress up" with their family roots is beginning to feel frantic and fatal for the franchise. Everything is knocked up another notch and Zemeckis ultimately finds himself in a knot after putting himself on the ropes way too much with this one.
Frankly, I remember really loving this entry on first watch, but I sure have no idea what I ever saw in this film to begin with. Granted, Zemeckis did have a train of thought that resulted in the entertaining and exciting finale on the train tracks, trying to reach 88 miles per hour before they fall into the canyon. I feel like the movie began to pick up a bit when we got closer to the climax. The rest felt foolish and forgettable in a story that felt more like a stumble than a structuring of an actual plot; a compilation of character moments and major plot points in the first two films, now rehashed and rewritten for a new setting. It worked okay in the first sequel, but this sure ain't no two-trick pony... The first one was a prancing idea, which had the first sequel barely holding on to its predecessor… and now, with a third film, the story is basically dragging its own characters and story behind, quite literally, in a dusty and dated mess of a movie that just have me eager to go back to the future and out of this disaster. I have to say, Zemeckis really is a rootin' tootin' tool for trashing this franchise the way he did. He may see himself as a son-of-gun with some seriously slangin', but in my eyes he was seriously slacking and shooting loose powder through most of the runtime. And honestly, this franchise ran out of steam already by the second film and making a third one I think Zemeckis is just shooting himself in both feet at this point...
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