Robert Zemeckis’ “Back to the Future” trilogy remains today one of the most beloved movie series of all time. It’s partially due to the fact that it’s one of the rare film franchise that hasn’t been expanded out past a trilogy, but it’s mostly because Zemeckis and his co-writer Bob Gale took an original time-travel concept and spiced it with lovable, relatable working-class characters. Parts II and III do what every good series should do and expands on the world and the possibilities of the concept.
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In this video essay by Davide Rapp, he explores the visual similarities across all three of Zemeckis’ films, specifically when Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) wakes up in bed after his arrival in each time period. Each time, he sees a version of his mother Lorraine (Lea Thompson, a teen in 1955, married to Trump-inspired Biff Tannen in the alternate 1985, and Irish immigrant Maggie McFly in 1885), which ends with the significant other (or father) coming home.
It’s fascinating, because on the one hand, the common complaint about sequels is, “this again?” When a template is established that worked in the first movie, it generally carries out throughout the series, for better or ill. However, on the other side, these familiar moments can comfort you in a blanket of familiarity only to quickly take it off. When Marty wakes up in the alternate 1985 in Part II, you assume he’s back home and everything is safe, only to reveal that he’s arrived in a dystopian nightmare.
Regardless of where you fall on the quality of the ‘Back to the Future’ sequels, it’s still an interesting look at how they’re put together. [One Perfect Shot]