Movie Marathon: Back to the Future

1. Back to the Future - I haven't seen these movies in full since I was a kid. They are my husband's favorite movies so he watches them when they are on tv, so I'll see clips and chunks of them once in a while. My biggest memories of Back to the Future are from going to Universal Studios every year as a kid. They had the Back to the Future ride which was one of those immersive 3D rides, but you sit in a Delorean, and I remember it being the coolest thing EVER when I was a kid. And they also had the clock tower as a stop on the tram tour - they would reenact the final scene of the movie as part of the tour. Other than that though, these movies were not a big part of my movie loving life. I know most people my age adore them, but I just never took to them, even as a big Michael J. Fox fan growing up (I LOVED Teen Wolf and Family Ties). The first two are great movies though! I'll never deny that - they just are not films I want to watch over and over again like some people (*ahem* my husband). I also appreciate the amount of planning and detail that goes into making the three of them feel so cohesive. Like, they really put a lot of thought into making it all work. And they are really clever - I love that she calls him "Calvin Klein" because of his underwear. LOL. I would say my only criticism is that they play "The Power of Love" like 50 times within the first 20 minutes and it made me want to blow my brains out. Also, way to take a part of black music history and pretend a white guy invented it (the Chuck Berry scene). That would definitely not fly today. But otherwise, it's a great film!

2. Back to the Future II - I actually like this one a bit better - I think it's just a big more fun and wacky, with them actually imagining the future with the hoverboards, etc. and how it's also an alternative timeline story. I didn't remember much about it, other than his mom marries Biff and she has those horrendous fake boobs that are made out of literal plastic (lol). But it's a very smart script the way it connects to the first one, and even has all of the Western references to foreshadow the 3rd one. I definitely didn't remember that they do a shot-for-shot scene in the beginning with Elisabeth Shue taking over the role of Jennifer (what an upgrade! I've always had a crush on Elisabeth Shue though - between her and Carla Gugino. And they are both still SO HOT! I have good taste, what can I say!). I think that's a really clever way to introduce a recast role - just pretend like she was always in the role and the audience is just remembering it wrong. I also love that baby Elijah Wood is in this! I didn't remember that at all. He was such an adorable little kid. Overall, I think this one just has a bit more laughs and funny moments. 

3. Back to the Future III - I'm not the biggest fan of this one because the whole Western part is just not my thing. I do like some Westerns, but the way this combines the Western genre with the comedy just doesn't work for me at all. It's all a little ridiculous. Even more ridiculous are the fake Irish accents - I don't know how I survived it (I could feel my eye twitching every time it happened! Haha!). Also, it kind of just looks like everyone is just playing dress up or, like, going to a costume party. But it's a fine conclusion to the trilogy and just as cleverly written as the first two. It's just clearly the lesser of the three. I love Michael J. Fox so much (and his scenes in Shrinking make me cry - every single one of them!) and I'm so happy that Christopher LLoyd is still kicking around (most recently in Nobody 2 and the Wednesday tv series). It's kind of funny that if you asked me how old he was in these movies I would have said like 70, but he's only 87 now so clearly that's not true. LOL. 

Ranking: 

Back to the Future II

Back to the Future 

Back to the Future III