Back to the Future Part III (1990)

Picture the pitch meeting for a time travel franchise where the winning idea was horses. Part III drops Marty in the Old West, and the fish-out-of-water joke gets tired faster than a rented mule. The real lead this time is Doc, and watching Christopher Lloyd fall head over heels for Mary Steenburgen’s schoolteacher is the sweetest thing in the whole trilogy. It’s also the slowest stretch. Marty spends a lot of the middle being called chicken and reacting like it’s a dare on the school bus, a character flaw the series only invented one movie ago. Thomas F. Wilson as Mad Dog Tannen is the best Biff yet, all spit and squint and terrible manners. A DeLorean parked next to a horse is still a great image. A 6.4 because it’s warm and well made, but it plays like a victory lap that takes 118 minutes to finish. $81 says you introduce yourself as Clint Eastwood the next time a barista asks for your name.

What works: Christopher Lloyd and Mary Steenburgen make Doc’s romance genuinely sweet, and Mad Dog Tannen is a great cartoon villain.

What doesn’t: The Old West jokes run out early, and Marty’s sudden problem with being called chicken feels bolted on just to create drama.

Who it’s for: Families who want a gentle Western with a time machine parked in the barn.