If only all films were this good...

Rating: 10/10 (7 August 2000)

Aged 7, this film blew me away. Aged 21, I'm still enthralled by its charms. Basically, BTTF is everything you could want from a movie. It has action, adventure, romance, good vs. evil, laughs and, above all, a heart. It's a film that you care about.
Michael J. Fox gave a career-defining performance as Marty McFly. Christopher Lloyd excelled as his mentor Doc Brown. The supporting cast were simply terrific.
Everyone has wondered what it would be like if we could go back in time and meet your parents. This film takes this already-enticing proposition and turns it into a story of ingenious excellence. BTTF is hard to criticise, bar all the unanswerable technicalities about time travel. The special effects look as good today as they did in 1985 but the film is more than that.
Back to the Future represents the way blockbusters used to be made. The plot, characterisation and a developed sense of empathy with the characters are every bit as important as "getting to the action."
BTTF's sequels were good but came nowhere near to the sheer brilliance of this one. It's well-structured and well-paced, clever, humourous and has a fittingly superb soundtrack. Alan Silvestri's score encapsulated the action perfectly and 'The Power of Love,' employed to great effect, remains one of the songs of the '80s.
The DeLorean was the perfect time machine, everyone's choice of time-travel transport. The unravelling of the story, with the revelation that only a bolt of lightning could supply the car with sufficient power to send Marty home, provided the film with one of the all-time great finales.
As a film of its type, it will never be bettered. Robert Zemeckis' filmmaking future remains in the past. He might as well retire. He peaked in 1985.