Review of Back to the Future Part III (1990) by Bill B — 22 May 2011

"Shot in the back by Buford Tannen, over a matter of eighty dollars." What kind of a future do you call that?

Picking up immediatly from the end of part 2 and (thanks to the wonders of time travel) part 1 Back to the Future heads to Hill Valley circa 1885 for an adventure in the old west. The change in setting gives this its own western feel and Bob Zemekis sprinkles a few loving homages to classic westerns. The setting change gives the actors some fresh stimulus and Thomas F Wilson seems to be having a great deal of fun playing villain Beauford "Mad Dog" Tannen. The threads from the two previous films are all payed off and it takes several viewings of the complete trilogy to really comprehend that everything in the frame is there for a reason from a clip from a fistful of dollars to Docs almost throwaway line "Where you're going there are no roads!" The time travel trilogy ends on a strong if slightly schmaltzy upbeat and optomistic note.

Everybody everywhere will say, "Clint Eastwood is the biggest yellow-belly in the west.".