Funny and touching

Rating: 8/10 (21 July 2008)

Back to the Future III picks up where the second movie leaves off. After the DeLorean was struck by lightning, Marty has to go back to 1885 to rescue Doc before he is shot in the back by Buford Tannen, Biff's great grandfather, played hilariously by Thomas Wilson. Buford is even stupider than Biff, and even though his character is very cruel, Wilson's funny performance lightens him up. Marty is even more out of his element in the old west than he was in 1955, going by the name of Clint Eastwood. When Marty and Doc are reunited, they are about to go back to the future when they encounter a problem: the DeLorean's fuel line was torn, and without gasoline, they can't get the DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour. They come up with a hair brained scheme to hijack a train to push the time machine to 88 mph. The only problem is Doc has fallen in love with Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen), and he is reluctant to leave her.
Back to the Future Part III gets more criticism than Part II, and I do not really understand why. In fact I would say it is about as funny as the first movie, and a lot funnier than the second. The bar tender has some of the best lines in the series, like "Water? You want water you'd better go dunk your head in the horse trough out there." and "There's a fella that can't hold his liquor!" The beginning is also my favorite opening scene in the series. When 1955 Doc sees Marty in his house, his reaction is priceless. I also thought the concept of 1985 Doc burying the time machine in a cave for seventy years was really cool. It was a nice touch to show the construction of the clock tower too.
The love story between Doc and Clara is very sweet and a welcome new direction for the series. Back to the Future I & II focused on Marty and his family, so it was a good idea to give Doc a turn. Marty comes to terms with his insecurities about being called a coward, and makes a fateful decision at the end which changes his life for the better. The only criticism I have is that the ending is a bit of a stretch. Just when Marty thinks Doc is gone, a time machine train appears, and Doc steps out with his two kids! It seems like the writers were trying too hard to be sentimental, and it's hard to accept that Doc would build another time machine after he was so dead set on destroying the Delorean. Nevertheless it still makes for a happy ending to a really fun series.