Review of Back to the Future Part III (1990) by Filipeneto — 19 Nov 2019

A decent and coherent ending.

This is the third and final film from the iconic trilogy "Back to the Future", one of the most notable of the 1980s. In this movie, Marty McFly finds himself arrested in 1955 due to the accidental departure of DeLorean after being struck by lightning. But at that very moment, he receives a letter with instructions that "Doc" Emmett Brown sent to him from the distant year of 1885, where he himself was imprisoned due to the time machine breakdown. The discovery of the machine and its repair eventually allowed Marty to move to 1885 to try to rescue his friend and to travel safely to the present in 1985.

The film is clearly the continuation of its predecessor and has direct connection with it. The mix of sci fi and comedy continues to be successful but this movie is more of the same, the big difference being the trip to the Wild West and the way the movie made humor at the expense of the old westerns. The striking figure of Clint Eastwood, one of the greatest western actors ever, is clearly honored.

About Robert Zemeckis's direction, or the cast, I can only restate everything I have said in the reviews of the two previous films. The director did a good job, leaving us in these three films, perhaps one of his most impactful works. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd continue to dominate the film and provide us with excellent dialogue and humorous moments. Thomas F. Wilson, who brought Buford 'Mad Dog' Tannen (and his descendant Biff) to life, is also performing flawlessly, and Mary Steenburgen is also very good in her role, making a romantic match with Lloyd.

Special effects, visuals and sound are an inseparable and important part of any sci-fi movie, but they are also important when the task involves recreating a long-time historical epoch, such as the Old West. Here they work quite well. Although not an expert in the field, I think the way the Wild West was recreated in this movie is minimally credible, although things are unlikely to be as the movie shows. The film sought to recreate the old Western, and that was largely achieved.

Thus ends the Back to the Future trilogy. Personally, I think this movie is a worthy end for her. The movie is not perfect, could have been improved on some things, but it honored the predecessors and gave the plot a logical close. Like the other two films, this movie has been shown to age well, and we are likely to continue to see it, even on TV, for a few more years.