Back to the Future

Cool it bro!

Today  I will find myself having difficulties, cause I'll be reviewing one of the many favorite films I myself have classified in a neverending list of random genres movies. The year is 1985, the setting is a wonderful sci-fi comedy, probably one of the best there has ever been: Back to the Future! one of the best films of all times! thousands & thousands of movie sites & bloggers as yours truly, praise this movie to the highest ratings paradise. Say, if you haven't heard of Marty McFly, Dr. Emmet Brown and a flying DeLorean it can only mean one thing: you are a big smelly piece of crap.

Heroes & their ride.

Back to the Future, is probably one of the most original & refreshing ideas presented in the big screen since Star Wars and the awesome exploitation genre. The succesful recipe is quite simple, in fact  I'd state that the 80's delivered the most interesting sci-fi ideas despite their special effects limitations,  Robert Zemeckis took the elements of a family rated comedy plus the exact amount of fantasy science fiction and a spoonful of talented actors with the final touch of the 80's pop scene and voilá: you have a masterpiece. Zemeckis knew this very well, so he built a strong storyline that would ensure audiences to love the movie for ages. 

The startling effects of modern science.

So, shoulders to the wheel! When you build a time machine, it just has to be a GMC Deloren and I mean it. The corrupt car manufacturer's ultimate advert for his death trap vehicle, "Back to the Future" was your regular 1980s classic. Well written, entertaining to watch and with a killer soundtrack, it's a film which has managed to survive the test of time. Released midway through one of the most irrelevant decades in history, this Michael J Fox driven piece is great.

Marty meets his parents in the 50's.

When Dr Emmett Brown (played masterfuly by Christopher Lloyd) creates a time machine, he's made his greatest, and most risky invention. Shot for stealing the plutonium power source, Brown's invention undertakes it's first major expedition with young Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox, the man himself) behind the wheel. Travelling back thirty years to the 1950s, Marty finds himself in his home town of Hill Valley and in the company of his lovestruck mother (Lea Thompson) and useless father (Crispin Glover). Destroying their entire relationship, Marty manages to completely screw up his entire future. Still, with no way to get home, and a school bully on the prowl, he's got all the time in the world to fix it.

Bullies were always there.

Perhaps the one set of films that Robert Zemeckis will ever be remembered for, "Back to the Future" and it's two sequels will forever be remembered as an entertaining piece of cinema. From the opening of the film where Fox glides around the fictional town of Hill Valley to the sound of Huey Lewis' "Power of Love", you can tell what decade it is, and yet you continue to watch.

It might be harsh to really slate the 1980s as much as we do, after all, we did get entertaining films like "Ghostbusters", "Ferris Bueller's Day Out" and "The Breakfast Club", but for every one good film, there were so many dire productions. A bit like the current box office climate, you knew that the majority were a disappointing mess, but there would always turn up one rare beauty. "Back to the Future" is one of those.

Like father, like son?

Led by some straight forward but solid performances, the film just has something about it. The witty notion of the hypocritical mother and her secret youth, that one magnificent scene where Michael J Fox performs "Johnny B Goode" at the school prom and Marvin Berry (Harry Waters Jnr) phones his cousin Chuck, all add together to leave you with a huge grin on your face. It's an icon for an age, and for once it makes you grateful for the decade.

Robert Zemeckis has never really found the highs of the "Back to the Future" trilogy (1994's "Forrest Gump" is his only other major success) since the final part was released in 1990. Ultimately though, there are worse positions to be in. A rare joy in an otherwise dire decade, this film and the continuing parts, was an entertaining piece of cinema which left you happy and content. It's perfect afternoon viewing, and the one surprise is that it isn't shown more often.   

Go time machine, Go!

Marty McFly rocks!

Overall an entertaining movie for all sorts of audiences. This movie has it all you could want to have in a movie that defines the word entertaining in the dictionary: Jokes, humor everywhere, an easy to follow plot line, high quality special effects, top charts songs, a DeLorean, the 80's vibe, 50's retro nostalgia and cool actors portraying iconic characters.