There are some fun callbacks to the original and Part 2. Sure, it may follow a familiar blueprint, but that template, as laid out by the original Back to the Future, worked. This is the movie where Doc and Marty flip their roles and even their signature catchphrases, 'This is heavy' and 'Great Scott!' Rather than feeling like a retread, Part 3 feels more like a remix set in a playful new period in which both protagonists are out of time. There's a Tannen, an unmovable deadline, a photo that telegraphs the fate of both Marty and Doc. A love interest threatens to upset their plans. Marty and Doc then struggle with many of the same problems they faced in 1955. We saw him do the same thing in the original Back to the Future, reading Marty's letter to him explaining how he died at the hands of the Libyans in 1985.

The Doc would normally object to this kind of deliberate alteration of fate, but he concedes because his own life is on the line. In order to save Doc Brown's future (in the past), Marty intentionally takes a trip back in time in the DeLorean to alter the course of events. The movie then sets up a story that parallels and, in some ways, cleverly flips the narrative of the first. Fox showing off his physical comedy chops - and to the horror of the doctor, he presents a new wrinkle in their time-traveling adventure. That reshot scene then twists with the arrival of Marty - and Michael J. But the third movie, a Western, so closely matches the original in its charm, wit and sweetness, it deserves to be remembered as the rare sequel that can stand on its own.Īnd, without a doubt, it's leagues better than the second.īack to the Future Part 3 starts wonderfully, with the glee of Doc Brown realizing that he's just been successful in sending Marty McFly safely back to 1985. Back to the Future is a classic comedy sci-fi adventure and its 1989 sequel, a Dark Middle Chapter, is saddled with connecting the trilogy through a convoluted, campy plot.

I won't try to argue that Back to the Future Part 3 is better than Robert Zemeckis' original. Read the case for Back to the Future here and Back to the Future Part 2 here. Which is the best Back to the Future film? In honor of Back to the Future Day, three Polygon writers prepare their best arguments.

Back to the future part iii underrated