Back to the Future is one of the most timeless sci-fi films in cinematic history. Marty McFly's time-traveling adventures with Doc Brown resonate with audiences everywhere, and this film has spawned a franchise of two sequels, an animated TV series, video games, and a theme park ride.
But when it comes to dissecting the sequels, which one is the better of the two? Is it the futuristic time-jumping adventure of Back to the Future Part II or the Western setting of Back to the Future Part III?
Part II: The Future
At the end of the original Back to the Future, Doc arrives and brings Marty and Jennifer to the future to sort out a problem with their children. In Part II, the audience discovers the nature of the situation, as they travel to the world of October 21, 2015.
In this entertaining sequence, fans get to see a future with hoverboards, self-tying shoes, self-drying jackets, a society where teens wear their jeans inside-out, and Jaws 19. It's an inventive look at the future, and it predicts that the Cubs would win the World Series in 2015, very nearly getting the correct outcome with a Cubs victory in 2016.
Part III: The Villain
The villain of the first two Back to the Future films is Biff Tannen, and he's an iconic movie bully. However, Part III changes it up by having Biff's actor, Thomas F. Wilson, portray Biff's great grandfather, Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen.
Having Buford Tannen be the villain allowed for a nice change of pace for the trilogy, with a villain more dangerous than Biff but having the same demeanor and threatening presence.
Part II: Our Favorite Characters
One of the best aspects of the original film is the characters. Fans love Lorraine Baines, George McFly, and Biff Tannen, and Part III only had these characters in one scene of the film.
However, Part II gives us a look at what these characters are like as older people in 2015, and they're very entertaining scenes. These characters get a lot of screentime, and it's a blast to watch them in 2015, the alternate 1985, and back in 1955.
Part III: A New Setting
Back to the Future Part III follows a structure very similar to the original, with Marty going back in time to an unfamiliar era, meeting up with Doc in the past, and having to find out a way to get back to the future.
This film takes place in the Old West, and it's a new, fresh setting for the trilogy, while also maintaining the structure and feel of the original film.
Part II: 1955 Revisited
One of the most fun scenes of Part II is when Marty and Doc must travel back to November 12, 1955, the date of the Enchantment Under the Sea dance in the first film.
Many scenes from the first film are revisited as Marty tries to get the sports almanac from Biff, such as the Johnny B. Goode sequence, George punching Biff, and Marty and Lorraine talking in the car. They are shown from a new perspective, and it's an enjoyable time.
Part III: Marty Completes His Arc
One of the flaws that Marty has in Part II is that he hates when people call him a chicken. This carries onto Part III, as Marty gets himself into a duel with Buford after getting offended when he calls Marty "yellow."
However, by the end, Marty completes his arc when Buford repeatedly insults him and he decides that he doesn't care what anyone says about him. This helps him when Needles calls Marty a chicken, but Marty refuses to participate in a street race that would have ended his music career.
Part II: The Cliffhanger
While Part III gives the trilogy a satisfying conclusion, the ending of Part II leaves audiences on a cliffhanger, as Marty discovers that Doc has inadvertently been sent back in time to 1885.
The film then cuts to a scene from the first film, where Marty is racing to the clock tower as Doc helps, and after Marty travels back to the future, the Marty from Part II arrives and tells Doc that he came back, only to have Doc faint upon discovering this.
Part III: Doc Finds Love
A surprising aspect of Part III is the romance that arises between Doc Brown and Clara Clayton after Doc saves her from falling off the ravine to her death.
This romance gives Doc an emotional reason to stay behind in 1885, as Doc and Clara connect over their shared love of Jules Verne's work. Their love transcends time, and it has a beautiful resolution at the end when Doc arrives in 1985 with Clara and their two children, Jules and Verne.
Part II: Michael J. Fox's Characters
Michael J. Fox is a very talented actor, and while we all love him as Marty McFly, we don't always how many characters he plays in this trilogy. He dons an Irish accent to play Seamus McFly in Part III, but Part II takes it for the sheer amount of characters Fox plays.
Fox plays Marty, as well as the old 47-year-old version of Marty, who wears two neckties. He plays his son, Marty McFly Jr., who is "a complete wimp." The highlight of this is when Fox portrays Marty's daughter, Marlene McFly.
Part III: The Train Scene
The trilogy ends with a thrilling Western action setpiece on a train. In this scene, Marty and Doc chase after a train on horses and are able to get on, hijacking it and using it to push the DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour to get it to time travel.
Soon after, Clara goes after the train to reunite with Doc. Doc saves her as they continuously run into life-threatening obstacles, and this is a sequence filled with action, tension, suspense, and thrills.
