Great Scott! Back to the Future is a great time-travel movie!

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2014)

Synchronize your watches! If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88mph, you're gonna see some serious s***. Directed & written by Robert Zemeckis, this movie will forever remind me of what good-feel movie is supposed to be. The movie is about a teenager from 1985, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) whom is sent back in time to 1955. While, he was there, he meets his future parents in high school and accidentally becomes his mother, Lorraine (Lea Thompson)'s romantic interest, causing a time-rip. Marty must repair the damage to history by trying to get his parents to fall in love, and with the help of scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd), while, also finding a way to return to 1985. I love the fish out of water history time-travel comedy, with the high-stakes action scenes. It was very entertaining. I love how the film has its running gags, and inside jokes of historical pop culture events; of Robert Zemeckis's work, and what was happening in the 1980s at the time. The movie has everything for every audience member, at the time. While, most movies were risqué and adult-aimed at the time; this movie balance it, enough to make it watchable for both family and single house-hold settlings. Parents went to go see it for nostalgia reasons. While the movie is mostly set in 1950's, it's truly a mark of the 1980's. I have to give the movie props with its controversial movie dilemma, with the Oedipal relationship with his mother. In any other movie, this might be tasteless, and turn people off, but Back to the Future made it work. I can also buy that, teenager Marty McFly would be friends with an older mad scientist, Doc Brown without it being creepy. Both have this father/son relationship that I love from this film. Mad praise to Christopher Lloyd for creating this character for his own. I can't see, anybody besides him. The production was indeed challenging. There were some changes that help the film, a lot. First off, is the title of the film, the film was almost call, 'Spaceman from Pluto'. Gladly, somebody came to their senses, and went back into the title, 'Back to the Future'. Another is that, while, Michael J. Fox was the first choice to play Marty McFly, but he was committed to the show Family Ties. So they hired Eric Stoltz. I wouldn't say, Eric Stoltz would be awful in the movie, but indeed, Michael J Fox was the best choice for the film and they wait on production, until Fox's schedule opened up. The supporting cast is well-acted. Crispin Glover that played George McFly got all George's nerdy mannerisms, right. Lea Thompson is just amazing, and beautiful actress to play Lorraine McFly. Thomas F. Wilson as the bully, Biff Tannen was just hilarious. Every scene with him, made the film, so much better. You'll love to hate him. The set use for the film is one of the most famous movie backlot, previously being used in such works as 1962's To Kill a Mocking Bird, 1960's Inherit the Wind, and others works. The movie had a pretty good pace. There weren't a lot of slow or boring moments. Maybe, the beginning, it does take them, forever to get the time travel part of the film. Eight minutes were cut, including Marty watching his mom cheat during an exam, George getting stuck in a telephone booth and Marty pretending to be Darth Vader. Thank God, they cut the 'Nuking the Fridge' idea. An early draft of the Back to the Future script saw Marty travelling through time in a fridge and being caught in a nuclear bomb detonation. Spielberg would later use this in 2008's Indiana Jones & Kingdom Skull. Zemeckis almost cut out the "Johnny B. Goode" sequence as he felt it did not advance the story, but the preview audience loved it, so it was kept. The visual/special effects are just ground-breaking for the time, and it's just beautiful to watch. The opening scene, flawlessly sets up the film's central themes of time and space, provides heaps of exposition. The music by Alan Silvestri is emotional, epic and intense music. It's give the feel of two friends alone, fighting alone against two of the greatest forces ever know to humanity; time and fate. About Huey Lewis and the News, "The Power of Love". It's a product of its time. It doesn't hurt or help the film. It's just there. I do love the 'Earth Angel' song. It's romantic as hell. There are some nitpicks that I could focus on, like the time-travel plot-holes, but trying to understand the logic of all the time travel paradoxes, would take you out of the movie, and give you a headache. It's not worth it. Still, how his parents never find out that Marty McFly look like the kid, Calvin Klein from their childhood? Other faults of the movie are, the Pepsi product placement and its over used clichés. The movie also one of those films that would audience would see anything in it, as people see symbolism from 9/11 tragedy, JFK assassination conspiracy, Aliens, and others. Others see the film, themes taken from ancient and spiritual myths such as Kronos vs Zeus, the Bible, and others. One thing, it did influence is the skateboarding culture. The movie occurred during the 1980s infancy of the skateboarding sub-culture. The film was such a success, that it create two sequels, 1989's 'Back to the Future Parts II' and 1990's 'Back to the Future Park III'. It also create an animated series, theme park ride, several video games and a forthcoming musical. As with all great movies, Back to the Future, has stood the test of time. It never gets old. Overall: Power up the DeLorean, turn the time circuits on and get the flux capacitor! Where we're going, we don't need roads.