Brilliant, creative and delightfully fun

Rating: 10/10 (5 November 2015)

Behold Robert Zemeckis' masterpiece, one of the best films ever to come out of the 1980s. One of the most brilliant and creative films I've ever seen, Back to the Future is an enduring classic.
The star of the show is Marty McFly, played with utter brilliance by Michael J. Fox. Marty is a bit of a cool kid, but as played by Fox he's also a bit of a goof and he's hilarious to watch. In my opinion, McFly is the greatest movie protagonist of all time. He rattles off the incredible dialogue from Zemeckis and Bob Gale but also injects it with such authentic emphasis and "ums" and "ahs" that its so easy to watch without thinking that you are watching a performance. He has incredible chemistry with Doc Brown (the unparalleled Christopher Lloyd). Also making up the superb cast are Lea Thompson as Marty's mother, Crispin Glover as his father and Thomas F. Wilson as Biff (one of the greatest film bullies of all time, thanks to Wilson's intimidating yet incredibly funny performance).
Alan Silvestri's iconic score is perfectly utilised to create a sense of triumph at key moments in the film. Zemeckis directs the hell out of the film with some superb long takes and superbly choreographed scenes. The film's climax is one of the most tense and brilliant scenes Zemeckis has ever made. But its the screenplay that makes the masterpiece - chock full of quotable dialogue, memorable characters and one of the most accessible time travel stories of all time. The story of Marty's parents is so much better now than I've ever realised; Lorraine's sheltered upbringing and George's timid persona set them up perfectly - their love story before Marty arrives is just as believable as their story as set by Marty, AND its just the right set of circumstances for his arrival to set it in jeopardy. It could have gone any way. Zemeckis and Gale place well written scenes in two different time periods to make a point more flawlessly than any amount of exposition ever could.
There are some problems with the film - after George's triumphant victory in the car park, the film needs to put in one more obstacle for him to overcome (a red haired brat who is never seen before or after) which just feels like borrowing time (which was needed but could have been done better). But all you need to do is watch Michael J. Fox shred the guitar to Johnny Be Good and you'll be giving out a perfect rating just like I did.