Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson, Elisabeth Shue
The final chapter of the Back to the Future trilogy does not possess the wonderful insanity and creativity of its predecessors, but it's still a fitting end to the time travel series. At the very least, Marty (Fox) and Doc Brown (Lloyd) pretty much stick around the Old West for the majority of the film and can recover from the whiplash they must've suffered from whipping around three different eras in the trusty DeLorean time machine.
If you recall from Part II, Doc is sent back to 1885 after the time machine is struck by lightning in 1955. Marty receives a seventy-year old telegram from Western Union assuring Marty that he is safe and living peacefully. Marty soon learns this will not be the case for long, as old records and a gravestone reveal that Doc will be shot and killed by "Mad Dog" Tannen (Wilson), an ornery criminal who is the great grandfather of Marty's enemy Biff. Poor Marty can't seem to ever rid himself of Biff or any of his relatives.
Marty (with help of the "second" Doc who is still around in 1955---if you remember such a paradox from the last film) travels back to 1885 to warn Doc of his impending death and naturally things don't go nearly as smoothly as Marty or Doc would like. There are complications, such as the ruptured fuel line which the DeLorean sustains and the arrival of Clara (Steenburgen), a schoolmarm with whom Doc falls in love. Now, Doc must choose between staying with Clara in 1885 or traveling back to 1985 with Marty. Mad Dog and his gang are lurking as always, itching for a fight, and how exactly will Marty and Doc be able to get the time machine to travel at 88 mph to thrust them back to the future when gasoline doesn't exist and they can't repair the fuel line? By train, of course, which is the closest thing that can travel even close to that speed.
What makes the Fox and Lloyd performances so perfect for these films is how they don't blink in the face how preposterous this all is. They are having a blast, and Steenburgen is a welcome addition who causes flutters in Doc's heart for perhaps the first time in his life. And we get to see the famous Hill Valley clock tower, which was crippled by lightning in 1955 and provides the impetus for getting Marty home in the first film, being built. Marty and Doc stand for a photo in front of the clock and each looks at the other fully knowing what will become of this architectural achievement. These moments elevate the Back to the Future series from silly science fiction to films with a heart and history.
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