Charm and Character Make Up For a Few Plot Mishaps

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2011)

Marty McFly's first ride is still every bit as charming and entertaining as ever, although the soundtrack seems to get more dated every time I hear it - I caught no less than five different instances of "Power of Love" in the first ten minutes of screen time. Despite the inherent plot issues involved with any time travel film, this is still a great adventure with a diverse, likable cast and career-defining performances from Christopher Lloyd, Michael J Fox and Crispin Glover. Even though I could recite several lines verbatim from the dark recesses of my memory, I still caught myself laughing at the jokes like they were brand new, and grinning like a fool from start to finish. Like many high profile BR discs, the picture on this was almost *too* stunning - you can actually see some of the "old person" makeup flaking off around certain characters' necks in the '80s scenes. A few early moments are excessively grainy, but once the plot gets moving, that clears up for good.