Where Crispin Glover’s absence in Part II kind of works — because that plays directly into the alternate 1985 where George McFly is dead — it absolutely hurts Part III. At the end of this incredible journey through space and time specifically to save his dad’s life, Marty doesn’t even get a face-to-face reunion with his father. He barely trades a line or two with mom while the substitute playing George hides in the far background to obscure his identity. Then it’s off to talk to Jennifer.

Part III is by no means bad, and parts of it are just as clever as the other two. (I always get a kick out of Marty driving the DeLorean into the Western themed drive-in screen and coming out the other side in 1885. And Eastwood Ravine!) That emotional hook that’s so strong in Part I and Part II is kinda diminished though, even if the stuff with Doc and Clara is very sweet.