Back to the Future Part III (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
1985 gave us Robert Zemeckis' sci-fi action/adventure classic, Back to the Future ... my favorite movie. 1989 brought a very good, if somewhat messy sequel. And 1990 brings us this, the final installment of the BTTF trilogy, the aptly titled 'Back to the Future Part III' {and I love it}. Picking up right where Part II left off, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) gets a 70 yr. old telegram from friend-&-mentor 'Doc' Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) explaining that he is happily retired in the Old West of 1885, & instructing him not to attempt time travel ever again. That directive goes unheeded once Marty discovers Doc's tombstone {dated 1 week after he sent that telegram}, and so, to prevent that from happening, he goes back to the past once more.
In quick prep, Marty dresses up as a cowboy & jumps in the DeLorean again, landing in 1885. "Then" {or there, however you want to put it, ha}, Marty humorously runs into his Irish ancestors (played by Fox himself, & Lea Thompson - yay), as well as the town outlaw Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson), who, of course, happens to be Biff's ancestor. Marty meets-up with good 'ole Doc and, the two must somehow figure out a way to repair the DeLorean time machine before Mad Dog kills Doc. Complicating matters is the arrival-in-town of lovely, open-minded schoolteacher, Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen), who falls hard for Doc ... and vice-versa. This makes Doc re-think his stance on not changing the past and staying put in 1885. But when Marty discovers that a ravine eventually named after Clara insinuates that she, too, would soon die in a carriage accident, it becomes a race against time - and enemies - to convince Doc to leave. But will he?
'BTTF Part III' is, for me, an exceedingly better motion picture than its predecessor. It is more coherent, streamlined, emotionally involving, & fun. That's funny to me, considering that parts II & III were filmed at the same time; the tones of each film are quite different. It's just that Part III avoids some of the prior film's narrative & logistical pitfalls; opting for a simpler, less jumbled storyline with the same kind of cinematic pleasures that made the 1985 film such a success. The clarity & directness of the plot here + the expansiveness of the setting is a welcomed change from the ambitious, but visually cramped convolutions of Part II.
Of course we get the wonderful fish-out-of-water gimmicks & 'good fun' of Marty acclimating to 1885. Ther are plenty of in-jokes for those fans who love the 1st 2 films. i.e., Marty's touchiness at being called "yellow". In a saloon scene, Marty does the very 1980s maneuver - the Moonwalk - to evade bullets being shot at him. And as Marty's perpetual rival, Wilson gets to unleash a whole new set of insults as he bullies everyone around town. And, as usual, the camerawork, Old West period set/costume designs, sound work, visual effects {particularly in that spine-tingling, suspenseful runaway train finale} & Alan Silvestri's music {aided by a comically genius showing from ZZ Top} are as stupendous & rousing as one could hope for. The inimitable Michael J. Fox - who actually just started feeling the effects of his eventual Parkinson's disease while filming - is in fine form, once again.
But it is the introduction of a love interest for Christopher Lloyd {something he really wanted} that made me lean-in more than I ever would have anticipated; especially since their safety is a paramount aspect of the story. And because their romance is so lovingly rendered, we become fully invested; with all hope for them hinging on the all-important climactic runaway train sequence. Both the iconic & new characters are warmly & amusingly performed by the large cast. And 'BTTF Part III' satisfyingly ties-up the loose plot strands from the prior installment, all while providing the good-natured, superbly crafted & thrilling fantasy/comedy adventure that we've come to know from Robert Zemeckis & this incredible saga.
In quick prep, Marty dresses up as a cowboy & jumps in the DeLorean again, landing in 1885. "Then" {or there, however you want to put it, ha}, Marty humorously runs into his Irish ancestors (played by Fox himself, & Lea Thompson - yay), as well as the town outlaw Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson), who, of course, happens to be Biff's ancestor. Marty meets-up with good 'ole Doc and, the two must somehow figure out a way to repair the DeLorean time machine before Mad Dog kills Doc. Complicating matters is the arrival-in-town of lovely, open-minded schoolteacher, Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen), who falls hard for Doc ... and vice-versa. This makes Doc re-think his stance on not changing the past and staying put in 1885. But when Marty discovers that a ravine eventually named after Clara insinuates that she, too, would soon die in a carriage accident, it becomes a race against time - and enemies - to convince Doc to leave. But will he?
'BTTF Part III' is, for me, an exceedingly better motion picture than its predecessor. It is more coherent, streamlined, emotionally involving, & fun. That's funny to me, considering that parts II & III were filmed at the same time; the tones of each film are quite different. It's just that Part III avoids some of the prior film's narrative & logistical pitfalls; opting for a simpler, less jumbled storyline with the same kind of cinematic pleasures that made the 1985 film such a success. The clarity & directness of the plot here + the expansiveness of the setting is a welcomed change from the ambitious, but visually cramped convolutions of Part II.
Of course we get the wonderful fish-out-of-water gimmicks & 'good fun' of Marty acclimating to 1885. Ther are plenty of in-jokes for those fans who love the 1st 2 films. i.e., Marty's touchiness at being called "yellow". In a saloon scene, Marty does the very 1980s maneuver - the Moonwalk - to evade bullets being shot at him. And as Marty's perpetual rival, Wilson gets to unleash a whole new set of insults as he bullies everyone around town. And, as usual, the camerawork, Old West period set/costume designs, sound work, visual effects {particularly in that spine-tingling, suspenseful runaway train finale} & Alan Silvestri's music {aided by a comically genius showing from ZZ Top} are as stupendous & rousing as one could hope for. The inimitable Michael J. Fox - who actually just started feeling the effects of his eventual Parkinson's disease while filming - is in fine form, once again.
But it is the introduction of a love interest for Christopher Lloyd {something he really wanted} that made me lean-in more than I ever would have anticipated; especially since their safety is a paramount aspect of the story. And because their romance is so lovingly rendered, we become fully invested; with all hope for them hinging on the all-important climactic runaway train sequence. Both the iconic & new characters are warmly & amusingly performed by the large cast. And 'BTTF Part III' satisfyingly ties-up the loose plot strands from the prior installment, all while providing the good-natured, superbly crafted & thrilling fantasy/comedy adventure that we've come to know from Robert Zemeckis & this incredible saga.