बैक टू द फ़्यूचर: पार्ट III

Even in the best franchises which proved that sequels can be just as good, if not better than the originals, the third parts are often fairly controversial. Look no further than to the third entries in "The Godfather" and "The Terminator" movies. "Back To The Future III" is no exception to that rule as it clearly is the weakest part in the trilogy, but it's still one hell of a great ride.

Writer/producer Bob Gale and writer/director Robert Zemeckis are two very clever men. They know the difficulties of sequels well. As Zemeckis explains somewhere on the "BTTF"-DVD set, the hardest part is to give the audience something new without moving too far away from the original's spirit. "Back To The Future II" achieved that goal gloriously (although Zemeckis who is very critical about his own work is always downsizing the greatness of it). Maybe the two Bobs went a bit too far away from what audiences loved about the original in part 3.

Although the movie is set mainly in the Wild West, it's still seen through the eyes of two people from the 80's. There are shootouts, horse chases and train robberies, but "Back To The Future III" is never a real Western. What makes this movie seem different from its predecessors is that fittingly it doesn't have a lot to do with teen culture anymore (save for a Michael Jackson-reference). Marty himself seems to have grown up quite a bit and you'll be surprised to see him behaving more focused on his mission than Doc in the latter half of the movie. This change of places by the characters was a deliberate decision by the writers and it does push the story and the relationship of Marty and Doc forward, but something about it just doesn't feel right.

It's intriguing to learn about the origins of Hill Valley and the ancestors of the McFly-clan. However, the earnest Seamus McFly and his family - that for some reason includes a woman looking like Marty's mother - seem strangely out of place in a BTTF-movie. They're just not quirky enough.

What makes the story seem even more estranged is the introduction of a new character, Clara Clayton, with whom Doc falls madly in love. Now, although we should all be happy for Doc having found his own private happiness, somehow we don't want him to behave like that. It's not Doc as we know and love him - and that's exactly the problem Robert Zemeckis was talking about. Marty and Doc used to be a team. Was anyone happy for John when Yoko got between him and The Beatles?

I still think "Back To The Future III" is an amazing accomplishment, a fine finale to one of the best trilogies ever made. You can't give enough praise to Zemeckis and Gale for not just making these movies for financial reasons but for actually trying to make them as good as possible. Personally, I love this movie to bits and I don't think it could have been realized any better. The only explanation I got for why this brilliant sequel got a lukewarm rating of 6.7 from IMDb users, is the dilemma Zemeckis himself was aware of, but couldn't fully avoid.

Fans who are still longing for a fourth part should keep that in mind and would be best advised to let it go. Zemeckis and Gale have said repeatedly that they don't plan on ever continuing the story. And why should they? Everything has been said, everything has been done. The movies are perfect the way they are. Let's be thankful there are still filmmakers that stick to their artistic conviction.

I know it's hard for any sequel to live up to the original. Yes, the first 'Back to the Future' film is definitely the best, but - come on - as far as sequels go, 'Parts II & III' are still pretty impressive. I know they may not have the same 'original feel' to them, but they at least to a fantastic job of expanding the original concept/mythology and growing the much-loved characters we met in the first outing.

I doubt there are many people who will decide to watch 'Part III' of a trilogy first, so my advice is watch them all in order. Then you can experience the full magic of watching a young high school student (Marty McFly - played perfectly by Michael J Fox) get caught up in with his friend 'Doc Brown's' (played by the only person seemingly capable of upstaging Michael J Fox here - Christopher Lloyd) exploits with a time-travelling DeLorean car

There's a brief recap at the beginning of the film as to how our heroes have become stuck in the past and now they have to go further back to the Wild West in order to get home - don't worry, if that sounds confusing - it all makes sense if you've watched all three.

What you have here is a movie that feels totally at home in the 'Back to the Future' trilogy, but this time is set among cowboys and spittoons. It delights in poking fun of the time period and genre, plus gives us familiar faces/enemies in the form of series antagonist 'Biff Tannen's' long lost grandfather as a murderous outlaw - naturally hell-bent on causing all sorts of problems for our heroes. Plus we even have a love interest for Doc - which does add a new dimension to the story. Normally if a new character is introduced so late it feels a bit jarring - I'm glad to say that here the insertion of 'Clara Clayton' feels organic and a necessity to the overall story.

You may not love it as much as the first, you may also consider this (or the second) to be the 'weakest' in the series, but even if that's true - it's still fantastic family entertainment. There are few films that can be considered 'timeless' (especially those made today), but the 'Back to the Future' trilogy can still be enjoyed by the whole family and holds up as it ever did (even if it did fail to predict what 2015 would look like and many of us are still waiting for hover boards and Nike self-lacing trainers!).

'Rick and Morty' may be cool, but they'll never be as well-loved as those they are spoofing. Long may the 'Back to the Future' trilogy never be remade/rebooted/whatever. 'Part III' may only be an 8/10, but overall the series will always remain a 'perfect 10.'

Part III, the wild west entry, is probably the most fun. The original has just such a fantastic premise that creates a sense of urgency about seeing it out till the end, but there is something uncomfortable about your mother having a crush on you that leaves a bad taste in the mouth during Part I. The premise of Part III is this: in 1955, Doc learns that he will eventually travel back to 1885 to live out his days as a blacksmith, but then Copernicus, Doc's 1955 dog, stumbles upon a gravestone that tells Doc and Marty that Doc will be shot to death by Buford Tannen over a matter of 80 dollars. Naturally, Marty says he will travel back to 1885 and get Doc and bring him back to the future with him (though it couldn't be 1955, because there's already one Doc there).

There are time-jumping laws that are not obeyed by the scriptwriters here, and much worse than in the second film, but this one's so well concentrated and so much the better movie that they hardly matter. It has a climax involving a train that rivals the clocktower climax of the first one. A fantastic scene.

Thomas F Wilson, the perennial bad guy of these movies, who started off as Biff Tannen in the original, played Griff Tannen in the second one, throws himself into a Yosemite Sam part as Buford 'Mad Dog' Tannen in the third. Mary Steenbergen, in one of her few leading roles, is a nice addition to the cast. She fits right into the wild west world, as the dainty schoolteacher who plays "his beloved Clara" to the Doc.

Like the others, its larger-than-life tone, with the over-blown time-travel dialogue and melodramatic highs and lows, render it into a kind of live-action cartoon. Kids will enjoy Part III the most, but it is so good-natured that adults should have fun with it too. Out of the three, this is the one that you'll be able to put on any time and feel good. Great, harmless fun.

Picking up where #2 left off, Marty is stuck in 1955 again and has to explain to the 1955 Doc why he's back and uses a letter Doc sends him from 1885 to explain what happened. After fixing up the time machine (hidden in a from 1885 cave), they find out that Doc is murdered in the past by Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (played by Thomas F. Wilson) "over a matter of $80 dollars." So Marty decides to go back and rescue Doc before the murder can occur, but he is bedeviled by a rip in the fuel line - meaning they have to find another way to get the time machine to hit 88 miles per hour - and Doc falling in love with school teacher Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen). Along the way, he gets advice both from Doc and his 1885 ancestor Seamus McFly (also played by Michael J. Fox) that he should really learn to control his temper.

Fox and Lloyd are fun to watch as always, and I give my hat off to the studio for hiring Mary Steenburgen as Doc's love interest and not some super model type; it's more fitting of who Doc is. Wilson's Biff Tannen officially became a traditional "villain" in #2 with him murdering George McFly, and now Wilson plays an even bigger villain in Buford Tannen, whom he makes both funny and menacing.

Ironically, Wilson is said to be a very nice man in real life. Leah Thompson makes the most of a thankless dual role as both Lorraine McFly and Marty's great, great grandmother Maggie McFly, and James Tolkan plays his Principal character's soft spoken law man ancestor (killed in a deleted scene by Buford Tannen; "Remember son... discipline.")

It should be noted that originally there were no sequels planned with the first movie; that bit with Doc taking Marty and Jennifer to the future to help their kids was just another gag. But the film was such a hit that the studio couldn't NOT do sequels, so this one and part 2 were filmed back to back, which is becoming more of a craze these days.

Although on the surface it's a lighthearted comedy about time travel, it's also about what it means to be a man. The first film defined being a man through violently standing up to your tormentors, while this film and #2 go with the theme that being a man also means you have to reign yourself in when people start annoying you. Marty' willingness to fight back was his strength in the first film but here it is his flaw, as people in both 2015, 1955 and 1885 continually get his goat. The message of self-control is bluntly stated when Doc says to Marty "You can' t keep going off the handle every time someone calls you a name, that's why you get into that accident in the future!" (referring of course to the car accident mentioned in part 2). It is not until Marty realizes his error when he's about to meet Buford in the gun fight that he achieves this ideal and, much to Seamus's glee, says of Buford and the opinions surrounding him "He's an asshole! I don't care what Tannen says, and I don't care what anyone else says either!" Because of this, he is able to avoid said accident.

Also loaded with gags, references to other great westerns ("My name is Clint Eastwood.") and Doc's response to being asked if his hijacking the train is a hold up: "It's a science experiment!"

Marty and doc are back, but in another time. They go to the West in 1885 in order to save Doc's life and from then on the Western adventure takes place. It's a pity that so many people disliked the third movie because, in my humble opinion, it's a great finale to this fantastic trilogy. It is very well written with rich characters and clever dialogues. This third part does differ in the sense that it's set in the West and has less of the futuristic gadgets and gizmos (obviously, since it's not set in the distant future but you'll still see a few including a time-travelling freight train) but it still retains the same energy, a different kind of action and it pays a nice homage to Western classics. Fox and Lloyd continue their roles of the teen hero and the crazy doctor (and it never gets old) but this time there's a new female lead. Mary Steenburgen delivers a hilariously wonderful performance as the ditsy Clara. She and Lloyd are funny and sweet together. Clara is the perfect lady for Doc and Steenburgen fits the part like a glove. This time, Lea Thompson appears as an Irish settler. Zemeckis has brilliantly picked up from where the second one ended. The film ends on a delightful note and I would have liked to see more 'Back to The Future' movies. But, I'm still very pleased with the way it is. There have been only very few trilogies that have impressed me overall. My list includes names like Ray's 'Apu Trilogy' and Coppola's 'Godfather' trilogy and of course Zemeckis's 'Back To The Future' movies.