Back to the Future Trilogy

When it comes to trilogies, they don’t get more entertaining than this. Every entry is both charming and fun. It’s a comedic take on time travel, a common science fiction trope. We follow Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), the creator/inventor of the time traveling DeLorean and his teenage companion, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) as they struggle with the negative consequences of time travel and attempt to restore order to the space time continuum all throughout the trilogy. It’s quite an adventure and here are my brief thoughts on it:

Back to the Future (1985)

The first film in the trilogy and it remains the best. We’re given a great introduction to Marty and his family. He and his siblings are held down by their underachieving and wimpy father, George (Cripsin Glover) and their strict and overbearing mother, Lorraine (Lea Thompson). You feel sorry for them, especially Marty, who actually has ambitions. Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) also proves to be quite the bully to George both in 1985 and back in 1955. He’s the quintessential film bully thanks to Wilson’s top notch acting. Christopher Lloyd is at his best as the goofy and quirky Doc Brown. This is the role he was born to play. After the initial test of the time machine is sabotaged by terrorists (thanks to Doc Brown conning them), Marty ends up stuck back in 1955, and that’s when the film becomes a lot of fun. The film captures the look of the 50’s quite well thanks to great set design and wardrobe. Due to not being aware of the consequences of his interactions, Marty screws up the timeline by not allowing his mom and dad to meet and fall in love the way they were supposed to and he must correct it with the help of a younger Doc Brown or else he’ll cease to exist! What’s so great about the film is that it handles it with just the right balance of humor and seriousness. Lorraine falling in love with Marty is creepy when you really think about it, but they approach it in a humorous way so it doesn’t necessarily feel creepy. It’s also satisfying to see George change from being a wimp to a man able to stand up for himself and win the love and affection of Lorraine. The ending does a great job of setting up the sequel too.

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

It’s almost as brilliant as the first, but not quite. Doc Brown and Marty actually go into the future this time to prevent Marty’s son from getting himself thrown into jail. It’s none other than Biff’s grandson, Griff (played again by Thomas F. Wilson) who’s responsible. Marty yet again screws up the space-time continuum when he buys a sports almanac in the future for the purpose of financial gain. When it falls into the hands of an old Biff and he’s able to sneak away to the past via the DeLorean, an alternate, scummy 1985 is created. The film once again explores the negative consequences of time travel and does so with a sense of humor and urgency. The film also skips around a lot which is cool, although it feels like it’s trying to do a little too much. It’s essentially three parts: the future, 2015, the present, the alternate 1985, and the past, 1955. It also happens to be the only film in the series that gives us a glimpse into the actual future, the year 2015. Sure, it might not have predicted the future perfectly (still no flying cars or reliable, working hoverboards yet), but it’s just a film, m’kay? The second part in the alternate 1985 is cool to see, even though it’s dark and a little depressing. Doc Brown explains all the possible paradoxes and changes in the timeline that have occurred in layman terms, so it’s not lost on the viewer. The third part with the Doc and Marty going back to 1955 to retrieve the sport’s almanac is what really makes the film. It’s so tense and funny to see them trying to avoid running into themselves and avoid screwing up what they did in the first film. It’s also great that it expands on Marty’s character flaw of feeling the need to do stupid, risky things just because people say he’s a “chicken” for not doing them. Fox is also believable playing multiple roles mainly due to some great makeup. The cliffhanger ending with Marty running into the 1955 Doc Brown saying he’s back from the future (and looking to travel back to 1885 to save the present day Doc Brown) is just perfect.

Back to the Future Part III (1990)

Not as stellar as the first two, but still has the fun factor going for it. It picks up right where the second left off with Marty going back to 1885 to rescue the Doc. What’s cool about the film is that it’s basically a sci-fi western and features all the conventions that are typical of the genre. Marty using “Clint Eastwood” as his name is both funny and a nice homage to Eastwood’s early spaghetti westerns. Thomas F. Wilson returns once again to play the outlaw “Mad Dog” Tannen, showing that the Tannen’s have always been trouble for the McFly’s. The duel between him and Marty towards the end is funny and a great spoof of the classic duel scene from A Fistful of Dollars (1964). The main highlight of the film is the romance that develops between Doc Brown and Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen). It’s satisfying to see the Doc find someone, but also unfortunate that she happens to be from another period in time. This causes conflict, but in the end, the Doc decides to stay with her in 1885 and create a new life for himself. Everything also ends up well with Marty and his girlfriend because Marty finally learns that it’s foolish to risk putting himself in a terrible situation just because somebody calls him “chicken”. The end also happens to feature one of Doc Brown’s best remembered quotes: “Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one, both of you.” Well-spoken and inspirational words to end one hell of a crazy ride for Marty and us viewers.