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[b]Back to the Future Part 3[/B, 1990
A direct continuation of the second film in the trilogy, Marty (Michael J Fox) heads to the 1880s in order to rescue Doc (Christopher Lloyd), who is stranded with a busted time machine. Marty must, of course, contend with the past iteration of his bully, this time as “Mad Dog” Tannen (Tom Wilson). But a further complication arises when Doc falls in love with a woman named Clara (Mary Steenburgen), which makes his choice to go back to the 1980s a difficult one.
While far more streamlined than its immediate predecessor, this conclusion to the trilogy plays a lot of the old hits to some diminished effect.
There’s definitely much less of a manic feeling to this movie, which spends almost all of its runtime in the past. There’s also an increased emphasis on the characters instead of just the time travel mechanics. Marty finally gets some sense knocked into him regarding his inability to walk away from conflict, courtesy of his ancestor Seamus. Doc also gets some good character work, with him deciding that he must destroy his time machine and his burgeoning romance with Clara.
Steenburgen is also a very welcome presence. I mean, she’s a woman in the Back to the Future franchise, so she naturally must be graphically sexually harassed, groped, and pushed to the ground. But at least she also has a personality, likes books and science. And, you’ll never believe it, she actually gets to do a few action-y things. She’s pretty well rounded, and it actually makes Doc’s conflicted feelings seem realistic.
The Wild West sets look pretty good, and there are some good gags, such as Marty impulsively taking the name “Clint Eastwood”, or the local funeral director taking Marty’s measurements in the moments leading up to a duel.
Ironically, what drags this one down a bit for me is the time travel stuff. It doesn’t feel fresh or innovative, and I found myself tuning out every time they started getting into the mechanics about how to get the car going the requisite 88MPH without the use of gasoline. The film felt about 15-20 minutes too long for my taste.
A decent end to the trilogy.
[b]Back to the Future Part 3[/B, 1990
A direct continuation of the second film in the trilogy, Marty (Michael J Fox) heads to the 1880s in order to rescue Doc (Christopher Lloyd), who is stranded with a busted time machine. Marty must, of course, contend with the past iteration of his bully, this time as “Mad Dog” Tannen (Tom Wilson). But a further complication arises when Doc falls in love with a woman named Clara (Mary Steenburgen), which makes his choice to go back to the 1980s a difficult one.
While far more streamlined than its immediate predecessor, this conclusion to the trilogy plays a lot of the old hits to some diminished effect.
There’s definitely much less of a manic feeling to this movie, which spends almost all of its runtime in the past. There’s also an increased emphasis on the characters instead of just the time travel mechanics. Marty finally gets some sense knocked into him regarding his inability to walk away from conflict, courtesy of his ancestor Seamus. Doc also gets some good character work, with him deciding that he must destroy his time machine and his burgeoning romance with Clara.
Steenburgen is also a very welcome presence. I mean, she’s a woman in the Back to the Future franchise, so she naturally must be graphically sexually harassed, groped, and pushed to the ground. But at least she also has a personality, likes books and science. And, you’ll never believe it, she actually gets to do a few action-y things. She’s pretty well rounded, and it actually makes Doc’s conflicted feelings seem realistic.
The Wild West sets look pretty good, and there are some good gags, such as Marty impulsively taking the name “Clint Eastwood”, or the local funeral director taking Marty’s measurements in the moments leading up to a duel.
Ironically, what drags this one down a bit for me is the time travel stuff. It doesn’t feel fresh or innovative, and I found myself tuning out every time they started getting into the mechanics about how to get the car going the requisite 88MPH without the use of gasoline. The film felt about 15-20 minutes too long for my taste.
A decent end to the trilogy.