Review of Back to the Future (1985) by Stevenf — 06 Jul 2013

A smile that is hard to fade is present after watching the blockbuster that is Back to the Future, a time-travelling adventure that explores every possible outcome for such a complex idea, but even through its many explanations and big words of flux capacitors and things, there is such fun and messing around to be had, with added drama that equals to quite the varied film that fills itself with plenty to be entertained about.

Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is the seemingly average teen who lives with a family that is at the bottom of the food chain, something that only seems to bother Marty.

He has a friend in the form of scientist Emmet "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd), who informs him that he has created a time machine, something Marty can only snort at but soon must believe the ridiculous nature of it and get himself out of a big problem, returning to the future with the unnecessary tools to do so after he has accidentally landed in 1955. But the opportunities he has while trying to fix the DeLorean time machine are endless as he has the chance to repair the circumstances to which his mother and father met and to perhaps changes their fortunes, but this is going against the warnings his friend Doc outlines to him, that he cannot get involved in any situations that may alter the future as these could have dyer consequences.

The almost impeccable writing and direction from Robert Zemeckis promote a changing of the winds in science fiction film, he has played with the idea of time travel but delivered an energetic and larger than life story that is bursting with jokes, pop culture references and characters who all have their own traits that will change their fate, Lea Thompson plays the hilarious Lorraine McFly, mother to Marty, but someone who, in 1955, has the hots for the man who has travelled back in time, her son.

Whether she is swooning after him or remarking on the nature of having your own name on your underwear (she thinks his name is Calvin Klein), her chemistry along with her future husband George (Crispin Glover), is a nice emotional kick for the film. But the real magic comes from Chris Lloyd and Michael J. Fox, who not only create to iconic characters, but also ones who are enjoyable to watch and easy to quote.

The film boasts excellent effects and a riveting score, and for re-watch value it is unmatched. A real gem can be hard to find in the current onslaught of big budget films, but Back to the Future set the benchmark and keeps on giving time and time again.