the grand finale!??

Rating: Null/10 (10 July 1999)

I'm not a fan of Westerns, so BTTF3 isn't among my favorite of films. But since it's the finale to one of my beloved trilogies, I often watch it after the other two for a sense of closure.
We aren't treated to much time-hopping paradoxes here as in the first two--and that's where the main fault lies. Suddenly, the movie isn't nearly as inventive as the first two because of that missing element. It resorts to cliches of the Old West (saloon hostilities, shootouts at high noon, hey, Marty introduces himself as Clint Eastwood) instead of its creative time-warp adventure. The sense of urgency is lost here, as there's no chance Marty will run into himself. However, it's not a bad film in its own right, since we love the characters by now and we desperately want them to get themselves out of this one final mess.
An interesting paradox surfaces early in the movie, and I wonder if anyone else caught it: On Doc Brown's grave is something to the effect of "from Beloved Clara." Well Doc never met Clara UNTIL Marty traveled back to meet him. In fact, Clara originally died in an accident which Marty and Doc saved her from. So when Marty looks at that gravestone, it's technically impossible since he has yet to go back, save her life, and introduce her to Doc.
Anyway, just wanted to point that out. One thing that really keeps the style of the BTTF series is the common use of repetition: the scene with Marty awaking to a woman he thinks is his mother (and it usually is), being mocked for his time-inappropriate attire, running into his ancestors, and generally having to solve time-related dilemmas. BTTF3 is a decent finish to an overall outstanding series.