Back to the Future Part III: The Sequel That Beat the Odds

Back to the Future: How Part III Defied the "third movie curse" and Became a Trilogy Triumph!

Back to the Future: A Trilogy That Didn't Fall Apart!

The Back to the Future trilogy is legendary; a cinematic achievement that totally redefined the possibilities of time travel in movies. Released in 1985, the first film immediately became a classic; and the sequels continued that momentum– achieving critical acclaim and widespread box office success! But here’s the truly amazing aspect – many trilogies falter when making the third part! So many awesome franchises just crash and burn after attempting this exact thing; what makes this film series even more exceptional, that they managed to make this actually work – making something awesome at that final point and bringing everything together for that amazing final experience.

Those sequels–making a combined $400 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), these impressive results showcase just how well-loved this franchise was. The crazy thing? They avoided that infamous “third movie curse.” Many franchises fall apart; usually producing that disappointing final third entry. And as we'll see; the list is exceptionally long. This trilogy does exactly the opposite, showcasing something else that only the best Movies can actually do! It delivers the best parts of the story; making the third entry possibly the best!

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Why Part III Defied the “Third Movie Curse”!

The movie poster for Back to the Future Part III (1989) showing Marty, Doc and Clara Image

Many trilogies fail that last film. Why? Those narratives usually run dry; and the brilliance of those earlier installments disappears. So many classics falter at that third entry, falling victim to a narrative that didn't fully work, generating lower viewer satisfaction ratings compared to prior works; which includes movies such as Alien 3, The Matrix Revolutions and Jaws 3! There's this pattern that continues: So many other titles got stuck, failing to overcome this issue. Home Alone 3, Shrek the Third, Robocop 3, and Iron Man 3 just demonstrate this continuous downfall across many years and in extremely successful movie series. And this is very, very common!

But Back to the Future Part III dodged that curse, showing why this specific time travel movie works so exceptionally well. It’s funny, suspenseful, and the character work is spot-on! They expanded on those well-known aspects and explored those aspects that viewers might only remember from earlier; exploring this deep character arc, and delivering some unique, unexpectedly interesting additions which help flesh them out and generate additional insights not available earlier, leading to this greater understanding that only comes later in a character's storyline!

In fact, Part III's Rotten Tomatoes score is even BETTER (81%) than Part II's (63%)! That's extremely rare.

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How Part III Solidified the Trilogy's Legend

Custom image of Doc Brown and Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy Image

That first Back to the Future movie is a classic. But the sequels? Not a given. Some iconic movies produce terrible sequels– Jaws, Robocop, and Psycho being seriously prime examples–and demonstrate why certain kinds of movies are easier or harder to execute and require far more significant consideration if intending to produce multiple parts of a successful movie storyline. So the initial surprise involved their decision to make multiple installments. And the initial hope also implied uncertainty surrounding the entire endeavor: Could that series actually make three awesome sequels? That initial surprise came exactly when Part III actually solidified its legendary status. This final film really provided a superb and extremely satisfying ending; exactly how those successful projects would do and what many critics hoped to see, completing a trilogy successfully!

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The Unnecessary Sequel That Paid Off Big Time

It's incredible to understand just how good Back to the Future Part III actually was, given its own importance. Part II could have ended without leading to another film. Even the original could be iconic on its own. Making Part III was a risk. They could've destroyed what had come previously. But they risked everything and didn’t only improve but brought the series into something far beyond anything imaginable at first!

The team explored new things without needing that exploration; producing an expansion to an existing narrative beyond anything possible. The storyline expanded those existing plot elements with characters and made every addition seem utterly necessary; that brilliant addition just seemed incredibly fitting given their circumstances.

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Conclusion: A Trilogy for the Ages

Back to the Future Part III isn’t just good – this is an amazingly excellent example and serves as a shining achievement in the industry which remains extremely important today. That third film might not have been needed; the entire movie series is actually amazing despite having taken such a risk; a risk only some filmmakers take the chance in implementing: expanding an extremely popular movie series into multiple parts– and producing an amazing overall conclusion that most fans still consider exceptional, even to this very day.

It’s a testament to exceptional writing, directing and acting! Even without Part III, it would still be amazing. But that masterful final act makes this trilogy absolutely unforgettable!