I agree, for the record, though I think I like the third one better than most people. (At the very least, it tried to give both leads a character arc.)
The major complain I get about the first one is thematic: the ending. Whether or not Marty's family being better-off is shallow, materialistic, and rife with Fridge Horror.
I don't think so, but it's on the table.
Also, heh. SF Debris, God bless him, put out that review on the same day for the same reason.
No particular comment on the animated series?^^
The only nitpick I have is, I liked part III better the part II.
Aside from that, I wholeheartedly agree with the rest of the review; especially the part regarding Doc and Marty. I've had the 25th Anniversary Edition Trilogy on DVD for about 3-4 years now and still get a kick out of it after all this time.
This doesn't have much to do with BTTF itself, but rather with your review - I greatly dislike whenever a fiction is given only praise and not criticism, or vise versa, even if it's a fictional work I like. No one work is 100% perfect, and no one work is 100% horrible. either.
- "I greatly dislike whenever a fiction is given only praise and not criticism"
@YasminPerry: The review wasn't without criticism, Bastard1 mentioned:
- "the only harsh criticisms I ever see come from people put off by the Hype Backlash, which I can't really blame 'em for.""Now, the third one... I don't know, it's plain okay I guess. Drags on a bit, and they don't really make the most of the western setting, It's nice to see Doc and Marty again and all that, but... I just don't know. It's not like I skip it or anything, I just could've survive just fine if it were never made in the first place, I guess."
The review, while positive overall, also had a fair amount of criticism.
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Timeless awesomeness!
Seriously, I've never met a single person who didn't like Back to the Future... the only harsh criticisms I ever see come from people put off by the Hype Backlash, which I can't really blame 'em for. Time travel never was more fun than with a souped-up DeLorean ridden by the world's favourite Intergenerational Friendship duo. It's all here: humor, action, romance, spiced with that inimitable, well-meaning '80s charm. Add to that one of the awesomest, fist-pumping themes in film history, and you have a Timelessly Awesome Thing™.
It hardly needs be said that the first movie is the only "classic" in the series. You just can't beat that '50s nostalgia, and heady explanations about the effects of messing with the space-time continuum were few and far between, never messing up the pacing. The second film is a worthy sequel though, and does a good job of getting Darker and Edgier without sacrificing the original's affable innocuousness... hell, even the way they recycle elements from the first movie works pretty damn well!
Now, the third one... I don't know, it's plain okay I guess. Drags on a bit, and they don't really make the most of the western setting. It's nice to see Doc and Marty again and all that, but... I just don't know. It's not like I skip it or anything, I just could've survived just fine it if were never made in the first place, I guess. That, and it also kinda feels a little more deliberately child-friendly... the occasional raciness of the earlier two just seems a bit absent, and the characters are a bit Flanderized. But the blithe affability of the series is maintained throughout, making it a cohesive watch, just like the other great trilogies out there.
Oh, and I gotta make a quick shout-out to Telltale's BttF game. It's more than worthy of its unofficial title of third sequel, and I'd actually rank it alongside Part 2 in terms of quality. No Problem with Licensed Games here! (Well, you know, outside of the myriad of crappy ones that came before... Ahem.)
With an overarching thematic message about how choices we make can affect our own future as well as that of people around us—no time machines required—Back to the Future is part of why films are great. They just don't make 'em like this anymore...!
(Review originally posted on 21 October 2015. The future is now!)