# Opinions on the Back to the Future trilogy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 2, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574 "2020-11-02T19:25:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/41 "2020-11-04T00:38:16Z")
I’m just glad there’s never been, and hopefully never will be, a reboot. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/42 "2020-11-04T00:41:52Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I’m just glad there’s never been, and hopefully never will be, a reboot. - Maybe there was on a different timeline. Or maybe what we’ve seen _is_ the reboot. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/43 "2020-11-04T00:58:14Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I’m just glad there’s never been, and hopefully never will be, a reboot. Robert Zemekis said in an interview that as long as he and Bob Gale are alive, there will never be a reboot, nor a Part 4. Apparently they own the characters. He cynically added that he is sure as soon as the two of them are dead, some one will rush a reboot into production, unless his estate has better lawyers. ---
**Author:** ![CorpusNeptune](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corpusneptune/32/17561_2.png) [@CorpusNeptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CorpusNeptune)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/44 "2020-11-04T03:44:13Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I’m just glad there’s never been, and hopefully never will be, a reboot. Yeah, I agree. That’d go to fucking shit quickly. -Baleaf ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/45 "2020-11-04T04:19:51Z")
The second one was quite possibly the worst movie I’ve seen (lookin’ at you, Blair Witch). The third was only saved by ZZ Top. Utter Shite, the both of them! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/46 "2020-11-04T12:58:37Z")
They are definitely “artificial” or “constructed” movies: full of parallels and callbacks and setups/payoffs. This is neither inherently good nor inherently bad: it’s just what kind of series of movies they are (though it may help to explain why some people find them so satisfying while other people disdain them). ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/47 "2020-11-05T17:44:15Z")
I, too, enjoy the full trilogy, and watch Part II with gusto every couple of years. Cool what-if twists, hilarious visions of future, and some excellent acting by Thomas F. Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/48 "2020-11-05T17:52:36Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > The second one was quite possibly the worst movie I’ve seen (lookin’ at you, Blair Witch). The third was only saved by ZZ Top. The third was saved by the glorious Mary Steenburgen, who was at her most wonderful during that time. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/49 "2020-11-05T18:41:22Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > The third was saved by the glorious Mary Steenburgen, who was at her most wonderful during that time. The older she gets, the better she looks. Go watch ‘Step Brothers’. Total Smoke Show, and you get to hear her say naughty words. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/50 "2020-11-05T21:36:30Z")
I’ve always loved the films; parts 2 and 3 maybe don’t quite measure up to the original, but they’re both funny in their own ways. And nobody has mentioned that today is the anniversary of Doc inventing the Flux Capacitor! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/51 "2020-11-05T22:06:57Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Now, transparent aluminum, that’s another story… “How do ye know he didn’t invent it, Dr. McCoy?” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/52 "2020-11-05T22:48:30Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > The protagonist in a movie _almost always_ has a character arc. They have a flaw that leads them down a thorny path, then they overcome it and become a better person. But Marty is just an awesome 80s dude trapped in a lame-o family that keeps him from fulfilling his awesome 80s dreams until he gets stuck back in time and, in the process of making his way back, shows everyone in the 50s how awesome they can be. There is such a thing as a “flat character arc” in which a protagonist does not change, but rather exerts change on the world around them. A lot of superhero and action movies rely on the flat character arc. I’m not sure how common they were in the 80s. To answer the OP, the first movie is a classic and I have little to no memory of the other two. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/53 "2020-11-05T23:17:59Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > But it definitely suggests that! “You know that new _sound_ you’re looking for?” is not Marvin saying “Hey, this white guy kicked up the gain on my Marshall… maybe you oughtta try that”, no, it’s Marvin saying “Hey, this white guy is playing a form of music unknown to us.” I feel like you’re overanalyzing this. Marty didn’t invent R&B any more than he wrote Star Wars or designed the camcorder. Those are all things he brought back to an earlier time because he’s a time traveler. A white guy playing music for Chuck Berry shouldn’t be any more cringey than a teenager invalidating the engineering of thousands of Japanese people. And it’s not, because he’s a time traveler. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/54 "2020-11-06T00:08:18Z")
Elsa Raven has died at 91. “Save the clock tower.” > **[Back To The Future Actress Elsa Raven Is Dead At 91](https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2558301/back-to-the-future-actress-elsa-raven-is-dead-at-91)** > > A memorable member of The Back to the Future cast has passed away. ---
**Author:** ![shstrang98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@shstrang98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shstrang98)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/55 "2020-11-06T00:45:36Z")
I’ve only seen the first one and that was in the theater back in the 80’s. My only problem with the movie is the part where Marty is playing with his high school band and the song is Power of Love. That was so stupid to me that it pretty much ruined the movie for me. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/56 "2020-11-06T00:52:26Z")
You didn’t notice who told Marty that the band was “too damned loud”, did you? Cameo by Huey Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/57 "2020-11-06T00:54:56Z")
_Power Of Love_ was written for the movie. It wasn’t like he was covering it, in the movie Marty’s band wrote it. Huey Lewis’s music video for it has both Marty and Doc in it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/58 "2020-11-06T02:28:41Z")
> [@shstrang98](#): > > My only problem with the movie is the part where Marty is playing with his high school band and the song is Power of Love. That was so stupid to me Why ? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/59 "2020-11-06T02:35:39Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Minority opinion: I will never watch 2 and 3. I’m afraid the sequels will mess up a near-perfect movie and I won’t risk it. > > I do not trust that the movies are good. > > And before anyone says “watch it and see”, I have a few words: Star Trek 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. I wish I had never seen them that’s sad. you’ll never see the part where Eli the preacher humiliates doc brown at the church service by making him admit he abandoned his boy. ---
**Author:** ![Enjoy\_Slurm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enjoy_slurm/32/3937_2.png) [@Enjoy\_Slurm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enjoy_Slurm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574/60 "2020-11-06T03:03:51Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > The older she gets, the better she looks. Go watch ‘Step Brothers’. Total Smoke Show, and you get to hear her say naughty words. Are you my cousin from Boston? [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2BDf-JDUIk) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-the-back-to-the-future-trilogy/924574.md?page=4)