Post by •°o.O emily O.o°• on Nov 19, 2006 12:53:22 GMT
At bloody last! *spoilers*
I watched all three films last weekend with a critical eye, and decided to do a proper review of these great great films. So here goes..
From the first shot of the first film we know what we're dealing with - thousands of clocks, so, time! Apart from being an enjoyable, witty and wonderfully 80's adventure (lol) the first half of the film is like a tutorial in exposition. We are given bucketloads of info without even realising, usually because the Doc is explaining to Marty (but really to us). It also gives us some more sutble references, like the newspaper clipping about losing the Brown Estate and the plutonium under the bed, and the clock tower flyers. Well actually that wasnt that subtle, but still, its jampacked with stuff. After Marty travels back to the fifties the rest of film is pay off and linking to all the set up, and boy is it satisfying. It makes you feel really clever when you recognise something from before, although sometimes they let the audience get too far ahead. My favourite scene is in the cafe in 1955 when Marty's staring at his young dad and Biff recreates the conversation from before. BTTF uses repetition and injokes for their humour (repeatedly!) and this means the film almost gets more enjoyable as it goes along. Its a great idea, its very cleverly written and it works. And Michael J Fox is hot ;D
The second film, which I expected to be fun but perhaps not as good as the first, I thought was just as well-made. I found the story taking twists and turns when I had expected it to be predictable, and Fox playing his future self, son and daughter was pretty amusing. Apparently they did that by keeping the camera in the same place and layering the shots (just like in our film Cat
) but to make sure it wasn't moved they filmed the scenes a day at a time - so quite a few hours in make-up for Marty! Bless. I had mentally prepared myself for a tacky 80's vision of the future with dodgy effects, and was really surprised. Apart from a couple of shaky hoverboard scenes, it was pretty convincing (clothes aside) and full of original ideas. My only issue was that "Griff" was pyschotic and falsetto...he came off as a bit manic rather than threatening. Was the point, or did I miss something?? The only other weakness was "Jennifer"s rather weak performance, so it was a relief when she was knocked unconcious and basically, put out of the way. Still, I enjoyed the sequel as much as the original, although it's less of a classic. But it's hard being the linking film in a trilogy!
The third film was, for me, the least satisfying. Only 3 or 4 stars not 5! It lacked substance...I know they wanted to recreate the romanticised view of the old west, but I think that period in America's history was nothing to be proud, which is perhaps why they completely skirted over including the "Red Indians" in the film.. As soon as 'Mad Dog Tannen' fired his gun I guessed what they had done (thank god for Mithril, eh boys?
) and the love affair between Clara and the Doc was rushed, predictable and cheesier than gorganzola on toast. Although it was still action packed and more adventurous than before, I feel the story was overshadowed by the action, and they didn't really explore all the possibilities of the setting in the hurry to tie up any loose ends. The repetition had lost it's charm, and despite the firing of guns, there was no messing up of the space time continuem and I never really believed in the danger that Doc and Marty were in. I think they maybe should have left it at two films - but I'm sure you'll all disagree with me here! To redeem myself - a couple of good moments; the opening with the rain and the gorgeous music was maybe the best first shot yet, and when Clara is standing in the station and the steam train thunders in and they just hold it...and hold it...and somewhere Rob and Bob are weeping at the beauty of that shot. But apart from these and a couple of great moments, I think the climax and story were a little shaky. It also reminded me of an editing habit which had bugged me in the second film - in the big action sequences they cut to another angle every five seconds it gets pretty confusing and the pace is manic.
Overall, I give the trilogy 4/5 stars, only because it seems to get steadily weaker going from genius to only great. And because the extras were shockingly bad...although the deleted scenes are worth a watch. Interestingly, they cut two scenes with the Doc which would have exposed his more seedy side - where he bribes a policeman, and where he finds his future self's "top shelf" magazine. I think if they'd kept this his character could have been more real and flawed, but I guess they wanted to keep it more family viewing material (hmm, apart from the wrongness of Marty and his mum!)
Go buy it now!! Tell me whatcha all think
Emily
I watched all three films last weekend with a critical eye, and decided to do a proper review of these great great films. So here goes..
From the first shot of the first film we know what we're dealing with - thousands of clocks, so, time! Apart from being an enjoyable, witty and wonderfully 80's adventure (lol) the first half of the film is like a tutorial in exposition. We are given bucketloads of info without even realising, usually because the Doc is explaining to Marty (but really to us). It also gives us some more sutble references, like the newspaper clipping about losing the Brown Estate and the plutonium under the bed, and the clock tower flyers. Well actually that wasnt that subtle, but still, its jampacked with stuff. After Marty travels back to the fifties the rest of film is pay off and linking to all the set up, and boy is it satisfying. It makes you feel really clever when you recognise something from before, although sometimes they let the audience get too far ahead. My favourite scene is in the cafe in 1955 when Marty's staring at his young dad and Biff recreates the conversation from before. BTTF uses repetition and injokes for their humour (repeatedly!) and this means the film almost gets more enjoyable as it goes along. Its a great idea, its very cleverly written and it works. And Michael J Fox is hot ;D
The second film, which I expected to be fun but perhaps not as good as the first, I thought was just as well-made. I found the story taking twists and turns when I had expected it to be predictable, and Fox playing his future self, son and daughter was pretty amusing. Apparently they did that by keeping the camera in the same place and layering the shots (just like in our film Cat
) but to make sure it wasn't moved they filmed the scenes a day at a time - so quite a few hours in make-up for Marty! Bless. I had mentally prepared myself for a tacky 80's vision of the future with dodgy effects, and was really surprised. Apart from a couple of shaky hoverboard scenes, it was pretty convincing (clothes aside) and full of original ideas. My only issue was that "Griff" was pyschotic and falsetto...he came off as a bit manic rather than threatening. Was the point, or did I miss something?? The only other weakness was "Jennifer"s rather weak performance, so it was a relief when she was knocked unconcious and basically, put out of the way. Still, I enjoyed the sequel as much as the original, although it's less of a classic. But it's hard being the linking film in a trilogy!The third film was, for me, the least satisfying. Only 3 or 4 stars not 5! It lacked substance...I know they wanted to recreate the romanticised view of the old west, but I think that period in America's history was nothing to be proud, which is perhaps why they completely skirted over including the "Red Indians" in the film.. As soon as 'Mad Dog Tannen' fired his gun I guessed what they had done (thank god for Mithril, eh boys?
) and the love affair between Clara and the Doc was rushed, predictable and cheesier than gorganzola on toast. Although it was still action packed and more adventurous than before, I feel the story was overshadowed by the action, and they didn't really explore all the possibilities of the setting in the hurry to tie up any loose ends. The repetition had lost it's charm, and despite the firing of guns, there was no messing up of the space time continuem and I never really believed in the danger that Doc and Marty were in. I think they maybe should have left it at two films - but I'm sure you'll all disagree with me here! To redeem myself - a couple of good moments; the opening with the rain and the gorgeous music was maybe the best first shot yet, and when Clara is standing in the station and the steam train thunders in and they just hold it...and hold it...and somewhere Rob and Bob are weeping at the beauty of that shot. But apart from these and a couple of great moments, I think the climax and story were a little shaky. It also reminded me of an editing habit which had bugged me in the second film - in the big action sequences they cut to another angle every five seconds it gets pretty confusing and the pace is manic.Overall, I give the trilogy 4/5 stars, only because it seems to get steadily weaker going from genius to only great. And because the extras were shockingly bad...although the deleted scenes are worth a watch. Interestingly, they cut two scenes with the Doc which would have exposed his more seedy side - where he bribes a policeman, and where he finds his future self's "top shelf" magazine. I think if they'd kept this his character could have been more real and flawed, but I guess they wanted to keep it more family viewing material (hmm, apart from the wrongness of Marty and his mum!)
Go buy it now!! Tell me whatcha all think
Emily
