BACK TO THE FUTURE III RE-REVIEW - Poprika Movie Reviews
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05 Jun BACK TO THE FUTURE III RE-REVIEW

Posted at 15:33h in Archive, Reviews by

This is part of my ‘Re-Review’ series, where I revisit a movie that I haven’t seen in awhile to evaluate if my opinion has changed with time.

Old Opinion: Repetitive trash that diminishes the beloved characters who don’t learn a damn thing throughout the trilogy

New Opinion: Repetitive trash that is what it is…and some people apparently love that

Back to the Future is an unabashed classic, combining the rare flawless script with perfect casting and performances. Back to the Future Part II took the ideas of the first film and twisted them a bit, with a journey into the future instead of the past, while reinforcing the importance of learning lessons from our character flaws. Back to the Future Part III is a tired retread of the first two movies that brings nothing new or interesting to the table other than a different time period, which is not particularly well used.

The #1 thing I hated about this movie is how, after everything that Doc and Marty experienced and learned about themselves and each other in the first two movies, they continue to make apocalyptically stupid decisions non-stop throughout the third film, particularly with the ending.

Regarding Marty, played perfectly by Michael J. Fox, here we are in the third film, and he’s still struggling to blow off being called a coward. Sure, in the end, he manages, but he managed the exact same thing in the previous two movies, so why should I believe it will take this time? Because he tricks Flea in a truck race at the end? Maybe I’m putting too much thought into this, but if the entire goal is to get everything set up to travel 100 years ‘back to the future’, who gives a hot shit what anyone in the past thinks or says? Why argue with or antagonize anyone that might be an obstacle? Didn’t Marty clearly learn this lesson twice before? At this point, are we to understand he is a moron, because that is not the stuff of cinematic heroes…

And with Doc, as the elderly, supposedly wiser partner, why undermine his entire character arc by having him build a time machine anyway and show up at the end to say “Hey” to Marty one last time? If that was a thing he could do, why did the entire story happen? What was the point?

Really, I just hate trilogy cappers that rehash the exact same themes we have resolved before. It is the reason I stopped watching The Arrow and The Flash on television: when stories start forcing characters to face the exact same decision they have overcome before, with no compelling reason for having a different decision-making criterion, then I just sit back and conclude that the characters are just stupid, and I no longer care what happens to them.

Part of my disdain is admittedly a result of my response to seeing the movie in the theater 31 years ago. I enjoyed Michael J. Fox in BTTF, and also in Teen Wolf. But when I saw Teen Wolf 2 shortly before BTTF3, it was my first cinematic experience realizing that the sequel was a photocopy of the original film, with pathetic attempts to “change” a minor detail so it was a different movie. Watching BTTF3 was a similar experience: they changed the setting, but the story is exactly the same, with no meaningful deviation or change at all.

So yeah, still hate it. It will hopefully be another 31 years before I subject myself to it again, if ever. If you love it, I’m happy for you, really. But it’s not for me…

Pros:

  • I mean, Doc and Marty are were great characters, so…good to see them again?
  • Some of the effects hold up quite well, despite the age of the film
  • Some of the movie was filmed in Monument Valley in Utah, which is beautiful
  • It always trips me out to see members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers show up in random movies (in this case, Flea)

Cons:

  • Repetitive, unimaginative story
  • Manages to diminish beloved characters
  • Fails to do anything unexpected or original, unless going into the Old West is what gets you excited

Rating: 1.5/5
In the era before sequels, prequels, and reboots became so hot, this trilogy capper set the bar so low nobody bothered to learn any lessons, and here we are in 2021…

Review by Jim Washburn

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