As I write this on our country's Independence Day, I hope that you all were safe with fireworks and enjoyed time with your family's. I am also currently watching possibly one of the greatest and groundbreaking franchise's in film history, The Back to The Future Trilogy. With that being said i'm going to bring you my review of all three of them (I'm halfway through three so hopefully by the time I'm done with the blog the movie will be over). So without further ado here it is............
Back to The Future
Contemporary high schooler Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) doesn't have the most pleasant of lives. Browbeaten by his principal at school, Marty must also endure the acrimonious relationship between his nerdy father (played by Crispin Glover) and his lovely mother (played by Lea Thompson), who in turn suffer the bullying of middle-aged jerk Biff (played by Thomas F. Wilson), Marty's dad's supervisor. The one balm in Marty's life is his friendship with eccentric scientist Doc (played by Christopher Lloyd), who at present is working on a time machine. Accidentally zapped back into the 1950s, Marty inadvertently interferes with the budding romance of his now-teenaged parents. Our hero must now reunite his parents-to-be, lest he cease to exist in the 1980s. It won't be easy, especially with the loutish Biff, now also a teenager, complicating matters.
What can you say about this film that hasn't already been said. It is one of the greatest films of all-time and there's almost no way you can dispute that fact. The story is one of the more common ones that is told today, but this was the film to first do it. It has out standing performances from both Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd (who I contend should've been nominated for and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor). The music both in the present setting and the past setting are just fantastic and they both fit the times. It has the best visual effects for a film that came out in the 1980's and it's just a prefect film. The comedy in the film is top notch and their a lot of quotes in the film that are still used in our pop culture to this day and the only films that can do that are the all-time classics. Overall this is a quintessential classic film that everyone needs to see before they die and it's just that simple. I give Back to the Future a 10 out of 10.
Back to The Future Part 2
Things have barely settled from the excitement and resolve of the original Back to the Future, when in pops that crazy inventor Dr. Emmett Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) with news that in order to prevent a series of events that could ruin the McFly name for posterity, Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox ) and his girlfriend are whisked into the future to the year 2015, where Marty must tangle with a teen rogue named Griff, who's obviously the descendant of Biff, the first Future film's bully. Marty foils Griff and his group when he jumps on an air-foil skateboard that flies him through town at rakish speeds with the loser bullies beaten again. Marty gets a money-making brainstorm before hopping in the time-traveling DeLorean, and he purchases a sports almanac. He figures that back in 1985 he'll be able to place sure-fire bets using the published sports scores of the games that are yet to happen. Unfortunately for Marty, Dr. Brown disapproves of his betting scheme -- he feels too much messing with time is very dangerous -- and he tosses the almanac. A hidden Biff overhears the discussion about the almanac, sees it get tossed out, and grabs it. Thus begins a time-traveling swirl to make the head spin. Biff swipes the DeLorean, heads back to 1955, and with the help of the unerring almanac, bets his way to power. The now-altered "Biff world" has turned into a nightmarish scene with Biff the mogul, residing in a Vegas-styled pleasure palace and running everything. It's all our hero Marty can do to pull the pieces together this time, as he must jump between three generations of intertwined time travel.
This is a brilliant film. Now let me say this, the rating I give for this film will be less than the first film, but this is my favorite film of the trilogy. It presents us as the audience with an interesting look at what people in 1985 thought 2015 would look like (they were really wrong) and it gives a lot of amazing visual effects. The humor in the film isn't as strong as the first film and that's a big letdown, but the bar was set pretty high. Christopher Lloyd is once again the thing that keeps the film moving. When he's offscreen it just feels as if the magic in the entire film is gone. The film film also goes at a rapid pace and it just seems to move from set piece to set piece. The film doesn't quite have as good of a story as the first film. Let's just be perfectly honest, it was an uphill battle for this film from the moment go because you having to follow what is easily one of the greatest films of all-time. Overall this film would be a fantastic film if if weren't trying to fill some pretty big shoes. I give Back to the Future Part II a 7.5 out of 10.
Back to The Future Part 3
The final installment in the Back to the Future trilogy picks up where the second film left off, but it casts off the dizzying time travel of the first two films for mostly routine comedy set in the Old West. Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) receives a 70-year-old letter from his inventor friend, Doc Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd), who tells Marty that he has retreated a century in time to live out a relatively quiet life in the Old West. Doc Brown reveals that he hid his DeLorean car/time machine in an abandoned mine outside town, and when Marty does some research and discovers that the Doc died shortly after writing the letter, he decides to find the car, travel back in time, and warn the Doc about his demise. Meanwhile, the Doc, who has fallen in love with a local woman (played by Mary Steenburgen), realizes he can't hide in the past from the problems he has caused to the time flow in the previous two adventures. He reluctantly decides to return to the present with Marty, but first, they have to find a way to get the DeLorean up to time-travel velocity with a broken fuel line and no gasoline.
This is possibly the worst in the franchise, but it's still good. There isn't much action in the film like there was in the previous two films and it can be boring at times, but the story is a little bit better. The addition of Mary Steenburgen is great and she brings a little bit of life to the film as we see the love story between her and Doc Brown develop. Speaking of Doc Brown, Christopher Lloyd continues to carry this franchise with the various facial expressions, the comedic timing and the physical humor as well. The visual effects are outstanding in this film as it is in the entire franchise. Some of the dialogue feels mailed in and cheesy with a lot of pop culture references that just seem really out of place. It does however tie up a lot of loose ends that were hanging around after the previous two films, but it's just not enough. Overall this film is simple, but just to simple to build upon the other two films in the franchise. I give Back to the Future Part III a 7 out of 10.
Overall Franchise Rating: 8 out of 10
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of the Back to The Future trilogy , what do you think of my review and which film in the trilogy is your favorite? Let me know in the comments and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
Back to The Future
Contemporary high schooler Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) doesn't have the most pleasant of lives. Browbeaten by his principal at school, Marty must also endure the acrimonious relationship between his nerdy father (played by Crispin Glover) and his lovely mother (played by Lea Thompson), who in turn suffer the bullying of middle-aged jerk Biff (played by Thomas F. Wilson), Marty's dad's supervisor. The one balm in Marty's life is his friendship with eccentric scientist Doc (played by Christopher Lloyd), who at present is working on a time machine. Accidentally zapped back into the 1950s, Marty inadvertently interferes with the budding romance of his now-teenaged parents. Our hero must now reunite his parents-to-be, lest he cease to exist in the 1980s. It won't be easy, especially with the loutish Biff, now also a teenager, complicating matters.
What can you say about this film that hasn't already been said. It is one of the greatest films of all-time and there's almost no way you can dispute that fact. The story is one of the more common ones that is told today, but this was the film to first do it. It has out standing performances from both Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd (who I contend should've been nominated for and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor). The music both in the present setting and the past setting are just fantastic and they both fit the times. It has the best visual effects for a film that came out in the 1980's and it's just a prefect film. The comedy in the film is top notch and their a lot of quotes in the film that are still used in our pop culture to this day and the only films that can do that are the all-time classics. Overall this is a quintessential classic film that everyone needs to see before they die and it's just that simple. I give Back to the Future a 10 out of 10.
Back to The Future Part 2
Things have barely settled from the excitement and resolve of the original Back to the Future, when in pops that crazy inventor Dr. Emmett Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) with news that in order to prevent a series of events that could ruin the McFly name for posterity, Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox ) and his girlfriend are whisked into the future to the year 2015, where Marty must tangle with a teen rogue named Griff, who's obviously the descendant of Biff, the first Future film's bully. Marty foils Griff and his group when he jumps on an air-foil skateboard that flies him through town at rakish speeds with the loser bullies beaten again. Marty gets a money-making brainstorm before hopping in the time-traveling DeLorean, and he purchases a sports almanac. He figures that back in 1985 he'll be able to place sure-fire bets using the published sports scores of the games that are yet to happen. Unfortunately for Marty, Dr. Brown disapproves of his betting scheme -- he feels too much messing with time is very dangerous -- and he tosses the almanac. A hidden Biff overhears the discussion about the almanac, sees it get tossed out, and grabs it. Thus begins a time-traveling swirl to make the head spin. Biff swipes the DeLorean, heads back to 1955, and with the help of the unerring almanac, bets his way to power. The now-altered "Biff world" has turned into a nightmarish scene with Biff the mogul, residing in a Vegas-styled pleasure palace and running everything. It's all our hero Marty can do to pull the pieces together this time, as he must jump between three generations of intertwined time travel.
This is a brilliant film. Now let me say this, the rating I give for this film will be less than the first film, but this is my favorite film of the trilogy. It presents us as the audience with an interesting look at what people in 1985 thought 2015 would look like (they were really wrong) and it gives a lot of amazing visual effects. The humor in the film isn't as strong as the first film and that's a big letdown, but the bar was set pretty high. Christopher Lloyd is once again the thing that keeps the film moving. When he's offscreen it just feels as if the magic in the entire film is gone. The film film also goes at a rapid pace and it just seems to move from set piece to set piece. The film doesn't quite have as good of a story as the first film. Let's just be perfectly honest, it was an uphill battle for this film from the moment go because you having to follow what is easily one of the greatest films of all-time. Overall this film would be a fantastic film if if weren't trying to fill some pretty big shoes. I give Back to the Future Part II a 7.5 out of 10.
Back to The Future Part 3
The final installment in the Back to the Future trilogy picks up where the second film left off, but it casts off the dizzying time travel of the first two films for mostly routine comedy set in the Old West. Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) receives a 70-year-old letter from his inventor friend, Doc Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd), who tells Marty that he has retreated a century in time to live out a relatively quiet life in the Old West. Doc Brown reveals that he hid his DeLorean car/time machine in an abandoned mine outside town, and when Marty does some research and discovers that the Doc died shortly after writing the letter, he decides to find the car, travel back in time, and warn the Doc about his demise. Meanwhile, the Doc, who has fallen in love with a local woman (played by Mary Steenburgen), realizes he can't hide in the past from the problems he has caused to the time flow in the previous two adventures. He reluctantly decides to return to the present with Marty, but first, they have to find a way to get the DeLorean up to time-travel velocity with a broken fuel line and no gasoline.
This is possibly the worst in the franchise, but it's still good. There isn't much action in the film like there was in the previous two films and it can be boring at times, but the story is a little bit better. The addition of Mary Steenburgen is great and she brings a little bit of life to the film as we see the love story between her and Doc Brown develop. Speaking of Doc Brown, Christopher Lloyd continues to carry this franchise with the various facial expressions, the comedic timing and the physical humor as well. The visual effects are outstanding in this film as it is in the entire franchise. Some of the dialogue feels mailed in and cheesy with a lot of pop culture references that just seem really out of place. It does however tie up a lot of loose ends that were hanging around after the previous two films, but it's just not enough. Overall this film is simple, but just to simple to build upon the other two films in the franchise. I give Back to the Future Part III a 7 out of 10.
Overall Franchise Rating: 8 out of 10
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of the Back to The Future trilogy , what do you think of my review and which film in the trilogy is your favorite? Let me know in the comments and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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