A Childhood Classic

Rating: 9/10 (24 June 2018)

Seriously, I haven't written a review on this film. Well I better watch it again and rectify that. I love this film, it is literally a classic from the Eighties. In fact not only is it a classic from the Eighties, and takes me back to my childhood, but it also takes our parents back to their childhood by going back in time to 1955. Okay, this film does have the potential to mess with your head, but it is still great.
I'm not sure if I even need to run through the synopsis since I assume that everybody actually knows the plot, but then again I'm sure there are people that have basically been living in a rabbit hole who may not know anything about this film. Basically, it is about a teenage kid, Marty McFly (Micheal J Fox) who watches his friend the Mad Scientist Doc Brown get killed by Libyan terrorists (namely because they gave him some plutonium to build a bomb and instead he uses it to power the time machine) and to escape them Marty jumps into the DeLorean and inadvertently goes back in time to 1955.
Well, you have to admit that that DeLorean is just so cool. In fact, this film is so much apart of our collective consciousness that I actually wonder whether anybody can look at a DeLorean and think of a time machine. Actually, I wonder if anybody actually went out and purchased a DeLorean with the hope that if they drove up to 88 mph they would end up going back in time? Then again, I suspect that there are some authorities that may have had a thing or two so say about that.
Actually, there are a couple of things that baffle me, including the fact that when Marty got back to 1985 he pretty much leaves the DeLorean unlocked and parked in the middle of the road. I'm sure that there would have been people who may have wanted to take a free DeLorean with them. Then again, if it wasn't running at the time then it probably isn't much of an issue. However, at least he was smart enough to hide the DeLorean behind some bushes when he was in 1955, though there is always the suggestion that things were a lot safer, and crime a lot less back them.
However, Hill Valley in 1985 really didn't seem to be one of those places that would be all that fun to live in. You know, the town square looks pretty shocking, and it is interesting that the old cinema has been turned into a church. Then again, a lot of churches meet in cinemas - it sort of works rather well, and the sound is also pretty good, or at least the wiring. However, I also noticed that the place next door was an adults only entertainment complex - right next to a church. Gee, I'm sure the church is happy about that.
This is basically one of those lets go back in time and change everything, inadvertently of course, so that the rather dreary life back home actually becomes quite good, even if it really came down to a single punch. Then again, Biff Tanner really did have it coming to him, and it clearly goes to show that the guy is all talk and no action. Well not quite, but it is quite convenient that they moved all of his thugs away just as George McFly inadvertently came up to the car, expecting Marty to be in there. Of course, punching Biff really does a lot to George's self esteem.
Oh, and then there is the principle, going around calling everybody slackers. I'm sure there is a law against that. Oh, that's right, it's 1985 and teachers could get away with demonising students. Then again, what did George do wrong? Why had he earnt the enmity of the headmaster? This guy certainly seems to have it in for him, or was it that he pretty much had it in for all of his students. Surely he knew what Biff was like anyway. Actually, the interesting thing is how the guy never actually seems to age. Okay, Marty does comment on the fact that he has never had any hair, but still, we can't quite fault the movie for having the principle look the same. However what was it, thirty years in the same job. That's literally his entire career.
Oh, and there is another thing that I find somewhat curious. If Doc Brown is now aware that he sends Marty back in time, where does Marty go when he flees the Libyan terrorists. Honestly, I wonder if Doc Brown actually realises that the time line has already been changed with Marty going back the first time, so if Marty goes back a second time, it isn't as if he is going to keep the timeline consistent. In fact the second Marty who goes back is likely to make some more changes, and inevitably he is going to muck up the time line even more. As I come to think of it, it seems as if Doc Brown doesn't fully understand the fifth dimension, so most likely he will set the timer to the exact time that Marty comes back, which will mean that there will be two DeLoreans arriving at the same time, and Marty will meet, well, Marty.
Anyway, this is a great movie, and it certainly brings back a lot of childhood memories. Actually, I have no idea how many times I have watched this, though I will have to say that the guy that walks around wearing 3D glasses looks pretty cool, even if he happens to be one of Biff's thugs. Then again, they do eventually get whats coming for them when they end up picking on the wrong people.