Back to/Future III

"Back to the Future Part III" is the third and concluding chapter to the "Back to the Future" trilogy. For many years this was my least favorite film in the trilogy, but watching it again for the first time in years I have new appreciation for it. "Back to the Future Part III" is a satisfying and worthy end to this trilogy.

At the end of the second movie the DeLorean is struck by lightening (which we already know provides the necessary 1.21 gigawatts of energy required for time travel) and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) is sent somewhen in time. Marty (Michael J Fox) is stuck in 1955 Hill Valley, but just after Doc and the DeLorean disappears a letter arrives for Marty. The letter is from Doc and was written in 1885. It was left as the post office with the instructions to be delivered on that particular date at that particular time. The letter says that Doc is alive and well in 1885 and under no circumstances is Marty to try to go back and rescue him.

Marty returns to the 1955 Doc Brown and enlists his help to recover the DeLorean which was left in a cave for 70 years. While recovering the DeLorean Marty discovers a tombstone with Doc's name on it...and the date that Doc died was only a week after he wrote the letter! The tombstone reads "shot in the back by Buford Tannen (Thomas F Wilson) over a matter of $80". There is no way Marty is going to let this happen, so he puts gas in the DeLorean and travels back in time to 1885 to help Doc. Of course, if it was that simple, we wouldn't have much of a movie, so complications evolve. The DeLorean ruptures its gas line, so that it leaks gas and can no longer be driven under its own power. Part of the movie is Doc and Marty trying to get the DeLorean back up to 88 miles per hour, but there is also the matter of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen who still intends to shoot Doc over that matter of eighty dollars...or will history change and will Marty's name on that tombstone? This final installment also introduces a love interest for Doc Brown in the person of Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen), the new school teacher with an interest in science.

This movie is much more of a straight forward action/adventure/comedy (whatever) movie. The time travel serves to get Marty in the past and back to the present, but there isn't as much playing around with time travel as there is in the second movie. I still think this might be the weakest of the movies, but it is a very fun ride. While this movie will never reach the "classic" status that I feel the first one will, this is a very enjoyable movie and is a fitting end to the trilogy. Good stuff.