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| Back to the Future (1985) |
Where to begin? Well, for one, the premise and main plot is one of the most defining time-travel stories of all time. It really feels like every time travel story that came after this used Back to the Future as their inspiration, or at least their basis for how the 'physics' of time travel works. It seems like a really complicated story, but the way they tell it makes it seem so simple, and a big part of that is Marty's perspective. Using Marty as our eyes so that Doc can explain how the science behind the Delorean and the Flux Capacitor works really helps simplify it for us, as well as gets out the expositional dialogue in a way that doesn't feel forced. There are a bunch of different story threads here, as well, beyond the main story of Marty getting home. You've got Marty trying to make sure his parents still get together, Doc's murder in 1985, Biff and all his a**holery, there's a lot going on. Each plot arc intertwines with each other so effortlessly that it's really easy to follow what's going on. I give the writing a lot of credit here; you can really tell this went through a lot of drafts and everything was really well thought out. The first act does a great job of establishing a lot of the elements that come into play later, like the clock tower, Marty's guitar skills, even small things like their uncle being in prison so Marty has something to joke about later.
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| Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly |
The humour in general is really good here. There's a lot of situational comedy with Marty being a fish-out-of-water, but the situational comedy doesn't stop there. There's also little moments like the subtle stuff in the background which gets influenced by Marty's involvement. You also get a lot of big, over-the-top stuff from Doc, George being a nervous wimp, Biff being an idiot, a lot of this humour is very character-oriented, and the fact that the characters are so unique and well-defined results in a lot of really unique jokes coming out of it. Combine that with a unique story and unique jokes coming out of that as well, and it all adds up to 'the humour in this movie is super unique across the board'. Like I said, the characters are really well-defined. They all fit into their archetypes, sure, but there's enough layers beneath the surface to really make them feel like original characters on their own. I think a big part of it is seeing who they are in 1985 vs 1955; having that little extra layer of knowledge goes a long way towards endearing us to them when we see how much they've changed from 1955, with George and Lorraine especially. The opposite is true for Biff: the fact that he's remained exactly the same for 30 years is an effective way of making us really hate the guy. I think that's what makes him such a great antagonist despite, at the end of the day, just being the same tired bully cliche we've gotten before.
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| Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown |
The presentation of this movie is outstanding. You can really tell this was made in the 80s, but at the same time, the movie doesn't feel overly dated or laughable by today's standards. The town of Hill Valley is clearly a set, but there's something charming about that which just adds to the 'small country town' vibe they've got going on. Mr. Sandman playing on Marty's arrival was the perfect choice; it really sets the mood perfectly. The Delorean disappearing and reappearing is handled perfectly; it's practically seamless. The only time the effects don't quite hold up is when Marty begins disappearing from existence, but the way the scene is framed, it's not so distracting as to lose it's effectiveness. But, I've danced around this long enough: the original music is perfect. It's honestly one of my favourite movie scores of all time: the main theme is one of the most perfect pieces of orchestration ever. It never fails to make me smile, and they always use it at exactly the right moments. That one piece of music just tells the story of adventure, and it compliments the movie perfectly; it makes the final race to get Marty home all that more suspenseful and exciting. It could make any mundane situation seem ten times more grand and epic than it naturally is. Alan Silvestri did a wonderful job with this.
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| Lea Thompson as Lorraine |
The acting is great across the board as well. Michael J. Fox was the perfect pick for Marty; he's just so likeable and charismatic that he's got us on his side as early as him being late for school. He plays the role in a very down-to-earth way, and really grounds Marty in reality, but he's still able to get in those big reactions that are always just so funny. It's hard to nail both, and Fox does it perfectly, as well as having amazing chemistry with Christopher Lloyd. Lloyd crushes it as the eccentric Doc Brown, he just doesn't miss a beat. He's almost the opposite as Fox; he's usually going big and over-the-top with his reactions, but when he needs to be more subdued and quiet, he nails those moments as well. Without the perfect pairing of Fox and Lloyd, Back to the Future would not be... well, Back to the Future. The supporting cast are great as well, particularly Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover. As with a lot of stories like this, they find themselves needing to play multiple versions of the same character, and they nail every aspect of it. Thomspon is great as the wide-eyed schoolgirl, but also as the jaded housewife, while Glover is the perfect hopeful teenager and the resigned adult. Thomas F. Wilson is also the perfect pick for Biff; I'm sure he's the nicest guy in real life, but he's able to portray this absolute s***stain of a person without missing a beat. Everything about his performance just makes you want to hate this guy, and it's another thing that transforms this cliche bully villain into something more.
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| Thomas F. Wilson as Biff |
If you wanted me to nitpick, I probably could, but nothing could devalue Back to the Future (1985) in my eyes. No movie is perfect, but when a film gets this close, you might as well call it like it is. 10/10.
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