Just about a perfect film

Rating: 10/10 (28 February 2003)

I agree with thefield: "Back to the Future" is clearly one of the
greatest films of all time. One of those where not only can't you
imagine changing a single significant actor, but you can't imagine
changing a single scene or (almost) a line of dialogue. It also
provides a good lesson about what science fiction should and
shouldn't do, a lesson that its painful sequels fail. The original
was about the characters and the times. The (absurdist)
time-travel mechanism is a great frame, and it's inventiveness
certainly contributes to the films "masterpiece" status. But the
sci-fi takes a back seat to the things we really care about: Marty
adjusting to 1955, George's self esteem, Marty's relationship with
Doc. In the sequels, we get a whole lot of junk about the
metaphysics of time (which as a philospher I instinctively pick
apart), but all of the new characters feel like props, and I don't
really care what happens to anyone. This, far more than the
"Rocky" series, is an example of sequels profaning an original.