My Review of Back To The Future Part III (1990)

 

Written by Robert Zemeckis And Bob Gale

Directed by Robert Zemeckis 

Marty McFly: "Hey, Doc! Where you goin' now? Back to the future?"

Doc: "Nope. Already been there."

On to the final part of this trilogy. Often, this would be seen as the weakest instalment of this particular movie franchise but it's also reasonably liked too. I like it. It at least did something a little different.

Last time, Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) was stuck in 1955 but managed to find out that Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) however had landed in 1885. A letter from Doc gave Marty the tools to fix the DeLorean to go back to 1985. Marty did that and then he went back one hundred years into the past.

I said in my last review that the people from Biff Tannen's (Thomas F. Wilson) timeline were awful and it turned out that Biff's great grandfather, Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen killed Doc in 1885 after Marty received the latter's letter.

If the first two movies focused a lot on Marty and his family, I do appreciate that this movie was more about Doc instead. That's not to say Marty didn't get some focus as he met great-great-grandparents, Seamus (Michael J. Fox) and Maggie (Lea Thompson). The Irish stereotypes were rife with these characters, so points have got to be deducted for that alone.

Getting back to Doc, it was also his time for a romance and the one he got with schoolteacher Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen) was rather sweet. It might have even been a better love story than the one with Marty/Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue) or his parents. Doc certainly got the happy ending he deserved.

As for the antagonist of the film, Mad Dog isn't much different to the likes of Biff and again, he's given a much deserved comeuppance. There's some loose ends from the second movie in regards to Marty's 2015 fate that are nicely resolved.

- I had forgotten to mention that Flea popped up in this movie and the previous one as a rival to Marty named Douglas Needles.

- Both Marty and Doc say each others catchphrases instead. Michael J. Fox got hung for real during that one scene.

- Standout music: ZZ Top's Doubleback. Members of the group also appeared in the movie.

- Chronology: 1955, 1985, 2015 but mostly 1885 for the events of this movie.

While it's not my favourite of the trilogy, I can't deny that Back To The Future Part III certainly had it's moments. Focusing on Doc was definitely needed and I loved his romance with Clara. A satisfying end to a great movie trilogy.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Back To The Future Part II (1989)

 

Written by Robert Zemeckis And Bob Gale

Directed by Robert Zemeckis 

Doc: "Don't talk to anyone, don't touch anything, don't do anything, don't interact with anyone, and try not to look at anything."

How do you follow up one of the most iconic movies all time, sequel wise? Well, you retain what worked about the movie in question and then you push things into another direction.

The first movie explored the possibility of Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) not existing had George (Jeffrey Weissman) and Lorraine (Lea Thompson) never got together. This movie explored a much worse conundrum. What happened if they fell apart? This was something that Marty and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) would find out.

Yup, what if things in 1985 has resulted in a dead George and Lorraine in a relationship with Biff Tannen (Thomas F Wilson). It's a relationship where Biff was abusive to Lorraine and her children but especially with Marty. Yes, it's because Biff became aware of time travel and decided to change his own fate, which making the McFly family's much worse as a result. All because of a discarded almanac.

This was also a movie where Jennifer Parker (Elisabeth Shue) got to see her own future with Marty. This involved children named Marty Jr and Marlene (both played by Michael J. Fox) with Marty, which also trying to stay out of sight. At least Jennifer had something to do in this one.

Speaking of future kids, Marty Jr wasn't exactly the sharpest either. His whole plot was getting framed for a crime that Biff's grandson, Griff (Thomas F. Wilson) had committed but that was resolved fast enough in lieu of the dystopian version of 1985 that made up the best bit of the movie.

I think the future scenes were fine and had their moments before Jennifer thought they were just a dream. The dystopian 1985 plot just worked better, further solidifying Biff as a proper threat. Biff's proper nasty when he he had any semblance of power and once again, it was gratifying to watch him get his just desserts.

- Both Claudia Wells and Crispin Glover were replaced in this movie, though the latter would return for the third movie. Marty also got to use a hoverboard.

- The movie ended with Doc being revealed to being alive in 1885, nicely setting up the final part of this trilogy.

- Standout music: Michael Jackson's Beat It.

- Chronology: October 26th 1985, a dystopian version of 1985, 1955 again and 2015 in Hill Valley, California.

Back To The Future Part II certainly upped the stakes and I do think it's mostly worked as a sequel. It definitely had fun raising the stakes for Marty and Doc, gave the recast Jennifer a bit more to do and continued to prove how horrible Biff and his bloodline are.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Back To The Future (1985)

Written by Robert Zemeckis And Bob Gale

Directed by Robert Zemeckis 

Marty McFly: "Wait a minute. Wait a minute, Doc. Ah... Are you telling me that you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?"

Dr. Emmett Brown: "The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?"

I turned forty this year and I was overdue in writing a review for the highest grossing movie of that year. Yup, of course I had to finally get around to this very movie.

It's such a simple take on time travel and it's consequences. You've got an average teenager in Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox). He's got a geeky father, George (Crispin Glover), an alcoholic mother, Lorraine (Lea Thompson) along with two siblings Dave (Marc McClure) and Linda (Wendie Jo Sperber). Oh and a girlfriend named Jennifer Parker (Claudia Wells).

Some of those relationships are a bit more explored than others but it's Marty's relationship with eccentric scientist Emmett "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd) that was a good focus. Mostly because Doc's experiments with time travel had quite the effect on Marty and the future/past of his parents.

The time travel machine of choice was a car named the DeLorean. Marty went from being in 1985 to ending up in 1955 where the origins of his parents romance came very close to not even happening. In fact, Marty really had to play matchmaker with socially awkward George and the more rebellious Lorraine.

Of course what the movie needed was a really good villain. We got that with local bully Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson). He was George's boss in 1985 and his tormentor in 1955. He also got a little too handy with Lorraine and even came close to scuppering Marty's plans in 1955. His fate in 1985 after Marty changed things however was a nice comeuppance for the character.

Now this movie could have been a nice one and done but even before it was enough of a box office success to justify two sequels, Doc's reunion with Marty and Jennifer did set up further adventures. Something had to be done about their kids.

- Doc had the "Great Scott" catchphrase as well as dogs named Einstein (1985) and Copernicus (1955).

- Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly before the role was recast with Michael J. Fox.

- Standout music: Hey Lewis And The News The Power Of Love.

- Chronology: 1985 and November 5th 1955 in Hill Valley, California.

Like every one on the planet, I love Back To The Future. It's a perfect movie that has aged brilliantly, never outstayed it's welcome and will always put me in a good mood when I watch it. A classic for the right reasons.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

I Turned 40 So Here's An 1985 Post

Yeah, turned 40 as of today and I thought a fun way of passing that milestone would be a blog talking about media events that happened in 1985.

Thinking of it as my less serious take on Reeling In The Years. 

Seeing as I talk about DC Comics quite a lot on this blog, of course one of things that sprang to mind was that this month also marked the 40th anniversary of Vertigo/Black Label/DC bad boy bisexual occult detective John Constantine. The character debuted properly in Issue #37 of Saga Of The Swamp Thing and became so popular, he ended up having 300 issues of his own comics from 1988-2013. Since then, he's had other runs for both the Black Label and mainstream DC, been on the Justice League Dark team and popped up in other characters and groups books, including Birds Of Prey recently. In live action, we've had the likes of Keanu Reeves, Matt Ryan and Jenna Coleman provide different takes, Taron Egerton through audio and we've had animated movies and shows too. Not too shabby for the character, eh?

Debut a few months before my birthday and the only soap that I consistently watch nowadays would be EastEnders. I start watching this around the mid 90s and I have been since then. Like all soaps, it has definitely had it's highs and lows but it's the one soap that I always find myself the most drawn to. I enjoyed the 40th anniversary celebrations back in February and the aftermath to that has been mostly entertaining since then. On the other side of the world, Neighbours also debuted the same year and will be ending for good towards the end of this year.

Are you really a gay man if you haven't watched The Golden Girls at some point in your life? Again, caught some of it as a kid and have rewatched it over the years as an adult. As a show, it never fails to make me laugh with Dorothy (Bea Arthur), Sophia (Estelle Getty), Blanche (Rue McClanahan) and Rose (Betty White) being the most entertaining foursome on the planet. Later in the year, to line up with this show's 40th anniversary, I'll do a blog about the show and it's short-lived spinoff, The Golden Palace.

1985 was also a very interesting time for Doctor Who. It was the proper debut season of Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor, paired with Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant). In their debut year, they'd face Daleks and Davros (Terry Molloy), the Master (Anthony Ainley) and the Rani (Kate O'Mara), Cybermen, Sontarans and the odious Sil (Nabil Shabam). Oh and there would be a rather nice team up with the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) but that wasn't all. The show's future would be in doubt, following a hiatus for the next season and the unforgettable (for all the wrong reasons) charity single, Doctor In Distress. Go and listen to it, I dare you. Also, 2025 Doctor Who looks like it could be heading down a similar path.

And then there were movies. 1985 gave Disney fans, The Black Cauldron (tomorrow's blog) and horror fans such sequels as A Nightmare On Elm Street: Freddy's Revenge and Friday The 13th: A New Beginning. It also gave audiences Back To The Future with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd as Marty McFly and Doc Brown respectively. One of my favourite childhood movies includes Return To Oz while other movies from this year include The Breakfast Club, Desperately Seeking Susan, The Goonies, Cocoon, St. Elmo's Fire, Fright Night, Teen Wolf, Santa Clause: The Movie, Clue and Legend to name but a few. Most of these I've seen, some I've reviewed and others I need to catch up on.

As for music, 1985 was a good year for it. A list of some of the best songs from that year, so to speak.

• Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
• Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
• Eurythmics - There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)
• Madonna - Into The Groove 
• Wham! - I'm Your Man
• Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Around (Like A Record)
• David Bowie/Mick Jaggar - Dancing In The Street
• Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love For You
• Bronski Beat - I Feel Love 
• Lionel Ritchie - Say You, Say Me

Well, that's a brief-ish on some noteworthy media things in the year of my birth that pertain to my interests. Hope you enjoyed reading it.