Back to the Future (1985) Review

 

Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future follows Marty McFly, who after a test experiment gone wrong, travels back to 1955. It’s here that he accidentally causes his Mom to fall in love with him however, forcing him to bring his parents back together and repair time before he can get back to 1985. 

God, I love this movie. Often times, especially with corny 80s movies, nostalgia drives the admiration for them, but this is just one of those once in a generation flicks that was good then and great now, where they truly struck lightening in a bottle. It’s a genius concept and one that is so off-the-wall that it works, providing such an inventive take for the time travel genre (one that has defined it to this day). Upon this most recent rewatch, I also notice just how detail oriented this is. From setting up events and happenings of 1955 in the present day, to having the slightest actions in the past effect the present, Marty is undoubtedly a catalyst for change—inadvertently starting rock ‘n’ roll, making his parents cool, and saving Doc Browns life (all while his mom is hilariously trying to bone him). 

Back to the Future is innocent fun with stakes, never feeling like what it is—Marty playing Cupid for his parents. More aptly feeling like an impressionable race against time to right not only the wrongs of Marty’s appearance in the past, but to fix the wrongs of those before, to improve the future. 

We also can’t forget only the coolest movie vehicle ever (sorry Mad Max’s Interceptor)—the DeLorean. Probably the only car to ever be so closely associated with a movie franchise, it’s futuristic look and feel is part of the sci-fi allure that sets this apart from movies like Bill and Ted, making you feel like, even now, you could travel through time clocking 88mph. 

We get such a stellar cast featuring Thomas F. Wilson, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, and Michael J. Fox. Fox, if you didn’t already know, is incredible in this. He brings so much charisma and bewilderment to Marty, which is in such stark opposition of his dad, played by Glover. The meta banter with Fox, Glover, and Thompson is probably some of my favorite bits in the movie, with him constantly calling them Mom and Dad and hinting at knowing more than he lets on (and speaking it vocally, often). It’s just terrific. Lloyd manages to chew every scene he’s in, maniacally providing one of the best performances of his career. I also can’t forget just how great Wilson is as Biff, nailing that cocky, boisterous, bully archetype wonderfully and easily being one of the most quotable characters in the whole film. 

Back to the Future, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is a modern classic that didn’t just reinvent the time travel genre, it set the standard. Not a single movie in history can match it’s energy, clever storytelling, and unbelievable ability to be just fun. It’s so damn fun and more than deserving of the 10/10 I’m about to give it. 

10/10