1985 was a very good year

Rating: 10/10 (26 October 2010)

"Tell me, future boy! Who was President of the United States in 1985?" And Marty quipped, "Ronald Reagon." "Ronald Reagon? The actor? Who was vice president? Jerry Lewis?"
Honestly, who doesn't love Back to the Future? I mean, seriously, who doesn't love Back to the Future? It's one of those rare movies that after you watch it, it just isn't enough, you have to watch it again. It's been 25 years later, generations had come and go, and even the new generation has fond memories of this remarkable movie.
I think a lot of it is in its plot device and imagination. The imagination is so deep that it's almost plausible that you can travel through time with a little plutonium and a flux capacitor at a speed of 88 miles per hour. It could work! But part of the fun is its whimsical charm, and the humor laced into a sort of innocence and lightheartedness felt throughout the movie. The plot alone required some tongue and cheek humor as we find Marty mistakingly going back in time to 1955 - accidentally running into his parents in the process - and discovers that he made a crucial error of taking his dad's place and subjecting himself to his mom falling head over heels for him. Because of this, he created a time paradox that if he doesn't bring his parents together, he will cease to exist. Not only that, but he has only one chance to get back to the future, or be stuck in the past forever.
As great as the plot (and especially the script) is, there is one vital importance to carry this film, and that is the performances. The Bobs made a wise decision casting Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in just the way his mannerisms are, and how animated he is in his expressions. Just watch the scene in the beginning when Marty and Jennifer are outside Hill Valley, and Marty gets a hard on for that new truck. It's a scene that could bore you to tears but it was the writing and the performances that really put those finishing touches. To further demonstrate, just check out the scenes between Marty and Doc Brown (played brilliantly by Christopher Lloyd). Their chemistry together is like pancakes and syrup. Neither one of them steals a scene from each other, because they play off each other so well that they almost need each other to sell the scene.
As a kid I was inspired to go skateboarding after that scene where Marty outsmarted Biff and his gang on the streets of Hill Valley. To this day, it is a classic scene. But as an adult, I appreciated the action in the ending because of the cinematography. It felt like a terrible night from hell, even if the sound effects are a little outdated. The way everything went wrong and Doc managing to fix the situation in the nick of time that zapped Marty back to 1985. It was all breathtaking stuff, and accompanied by a brilliant score by Alan Silvestri and the wonderful direction of Bob Zemeckis.
I really can't give a high enough praise for this timeless film. Since 1985, a lot of the dialogue became catch phrases. "Hello, McFly!" was a common use of explaining someone was an idiot in my family. I think the world used that too. That might have explained Crispin Glover's lack of involvement for the sequels. I guess he wasn't fond of George McFly. Now that's heavy!