Back to the Future Part III Parent Guide

Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) is in trouble! The DeLorean has been struck by lightning, pitching the Doc back to 1885. Now Marty (Michael J. Fox), stranded in 1955, will have to work with the past-version of Doc Brown to rescue him. But once Marty gets there, he realizes he has more work to do than he thought - turns out, gasoline is hard to come by in 1885, and the DeLorean has a hole in the tank. With Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) gunning for both of them, Marty and Doc Brown will have to work fast to escape the Old West before they’re buried in it.

Back to the Futureand Back to the Future Part II are quite similar (at least aesthetically), but Back to the Future Part III stands out for the simple reason that it’s a Western. Even though most of the plot elements are completely interchangeable with any of the other films, this one has the distinction of train hi-jacking, near-hanging, and a duel at high noon…or at least, around 8am.

Everyone loves a good western, and the writers and director here are no exception. They do their best to shovel in references to other films (most notably A Fistful of Dollars), and I think it pays off. Instead of feeling cynical and cheesy, it feels loving and cheesy. The change from the classic Back to the Future score to a more Western track is a great change too – I think it’s more of an homage than a rip-off, but your mileage may vary.

Despite the potential for violence in the Old West, this movie manages to keep things low-key. It has far fewer content concerns than the previous film, with significantly less profanity and violence and almost no sexual content.

You can’t accuse it of being original, but you can’t say it isn’t a good time either. Back to the Future Part III is just as goofy and fun as its predecessors, with the same cast of oddballs (all of whom have eerily familiar relatives), the same souped-up DeLorean/time-machine, and the same great chemistry between Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. If you don’t mind some other similarities (read: identical events recurring regardless of improbability), then this is a great time for kids and adults alike. If you do mind the recycling, then just re-watch the original concurrently with something like A Fistful of Dollars and you’ll have a similar experience.