Back to the Future Part III
I don't care what anyone says about the third Back to the Future, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale had a plan for the trilogy and executed it extremely well. That alone makes this entry, and this trilogy, worlds better than other IPs that hand off creative leadership every so often and lack overall direction-a market now defined by reboots and legacy sequels as a means to cash in as opposed to lovingly continuing a story.
It also rules that they wanted the final chapter to be a western. I respect that so much.
Starting with unearthing another hidden delorean in 1955, the Doc of that decade sends Marty on a mission to prevent Marty's Doc from an untimely fate by the hands of Biff's great grandfather, Bufford "Mad Dog" Tannen. Against Doc's wishes, Marty goes after him to bring him home. That's all the hook I need.
While in 1885, I felt the filmakers did a good job with the old west atmosphere. The saloon, while much different the corner cafes of the previous two entries for good reason, still served its purpose as the initial confrontation point between Marty and Biff's variant. The horse riding was exciting, especially when paired with the altered Back to the Future theme. Heck, even the nighttime scenes with Marty and Doc camping by the fire harnessed the feeling of a western wonderfully to me.
Where I'll concede this entry gets a little bogged down is in regards to the focus on Doc's love life with Clara Clayton and the lack of a love interest for Marty, mother or otherwise. Ultimately I do value this aspect and appreciate that Doc earns his happy ever after, but there is a decent chunk that feels unevenly paced with the rest of the trilogy as a result of pursuing this storyline. Also, Clara's bumbling around on the train in the final act is pure rage bait tension, lol.
As always, though, the wild methods required to get back home are engaging, and the plan to use the locomotive to push the Delorean to 88 mph is no different. Extra points for making Marty and Doc confront their fate with Bufford on the city street as opposed to running away from it. Way more satisfying, obviously.
I do enjoy that we eventually get the payoff of Marty's troubling future from Part II. While it would have been nice to have this fit nearly within its own story in the previous entry, I understand how it couldn't due to the fact that Marty was stuck in 1955, which was the right call for sure. It just further highlights how the first film is actually perfect because it can hold up on its own whereas these sequels are excellent but can't exist independently of each other.
Ultimately, this is probably the best trilogy ever made exclusively for the screen (The Lord of the Rings would most likely take the crown in general). All time classics and a masterpiece in storytelling. Bonus points for the creators being steadfast in their stance to never make a modern sequel or spin off as well-I do not want that.
WATCHED ON: 4K Disc
HIGHER OR LOWER: at the top to close out the trilogy.
It also rules that they wanted the final chapter to be a western. I respect that so much.
Starting with unearthing another hidden delorean in 1955, the Doc of that decade sends Marty on a mission to prevent Marty's Doc from an untimely fate by the hands of Biff's great grandfather, Bufford "Mad Dog" Tannen. Against Doc's wishes, Marty goes after him to bring him home. That's all the hook I need.
While in 1885, I felt the filmakers did a good job with the old west atmosphere. The saloon, while much different the corner cafes of the previous two entries for good reason, still served its purpose as the initial confrontation point between Marty and Biff's variant. The horse riding was exciting, especially when paired with the altered Back to the Future theme. Heck, even the nighttime scenes with Marty and Doc camping by the fire harnessed the feeling of a western wonderfully to me.
Where I'll concede this entry gets a little bogged down is in regards to the focus on Doc's love life with Clara Clayton and the lack of a love interest for Marty, mother or otherwise. Ultimately I do value this aspect and appreciate that Doc earns his happy ever after, but there is a decent chunk that feels unevenly paced with the rest of the trilogy as a result of pursuing this storyline. Also, Clara's bumbling around on the train in the final act is pure rage bait tension, lol.
As always, though, the wild methods required to get back home are engaging, and the plan to use the locomotive to push the Delorean to 88 mph is no different. Extra points for making Marty and Doc confront their fate with Bufford on the city street as opposed to running away from it. Way more satisfying, obviously.
I do enjoy that we eventually get the payoff of Marty's troubling future from Part II. While it would have been nice to have this fit nearly within its own story in the previous entry, I understand how it couldn't due to the fact that Marty was stuck in 1955, which was the right call for sure. It just further highlights how the first film is actually perfect because it can hold up on its own whereas these sequels are excellent but can't exist independently of each other.
Ultimately, this is probably the best trilogy ever made exclusively for the screen (The Lord of the Rings would most likely take the crown in general). All time classics and a masterpiece in storytelling. Bonus points for the creators being steadfast in their stance to never make a modern sequel or spin off as well-I do not want that.
WATCHED ON: 4K Disc
HIGHER OR LOWER: at the top to close out the trilogy.
- dylanfordays
- 8 nov. 2025