"Is this a holdup?" "It's a science experiment!"

Rating: Null/10 (12 June 2007)

"Back to the Future Part III" is an exciting conclusion to the entire "Back to the Future" trilogy, of which I am a huge fan. Writer/director Robert Zemeckis and writer/producer Bob Gale deserve my utmost praise for the commendable job they did with all three movies. So do Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson, and (strictly in "Part III") Mary Steenburgen for their superlative acting. (If you have not yet seen any of the trilogy, DO NOT read any further.) The basic premise of "Part III" is that Marty McFly (Fox) must travel back to the Wild West in the year 1885 in order to save Dr. Emmett L. "Doc" Brown (Lloyd) from being shot by the notorious gunman Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Wilson), who happens to be the great-grandfather of Biff Tannen (Wilson again), Marty's arch nemesis from the first two movies. While in 1885, Doc falls in love with schoolteacher Clara Clayton (Steenburgen), with their common interests being a love of science and a fascination with the writings of Jules Verne.
My favorite highlights from "Back to the Future Part III" include the following. Obviously, the most thrilling sequence in the picture is the perilous train ride back to the future! At the film's conclusion, Doc summarizes the whole trilogy by telling Marty and his girlfriend Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue) that their future is whatever they make it. Upon first arriving in 1885, Marty panics as he speedily drives the DeLorean time vehicle away from a Native American attack and then witnesses an exciting charge of the U.S. Cavalry! Marty tries to escape Buford and his gang from a saloon but is easily overpowered as Buford ropes & drags him to his potential hanging site. At the climactic shoot-out, Marty replaces his handgun with his fists in order to defeat Buford. And at the Hill Valley Town Festival (probably the most fun scene for the cast & crew to film), one of the lively dance tunes we hear is actually the ZZ Top hit "Double Back."
Doc mentions in "Back to the Future Part III" how he wishes he had never invented his DeLorean time machine, claiming that it has caused nothing but trouble, but in reality, Doc is wrong. In the end, Doc avoids being shot by Buford, marries his sweetheart Clara, and raises two kids with her, along with his ever faithful dog Einstein. As for Marty, over the course of the trilogy he not only greatly improves his family life but also learns not to lose his cool whenever someone calls him a derogatory name such as "chicken." Overall, the entire "Back to the Future" trilogy is so well done that I am still enchanted whenever I watch it. And no, there doesn't need to be a "Back to the Future Part IV" in my opinion, since I truly believe the epic is very well told & developed in the three already-existing movies.