'80s in every way, and still very engaging

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2013)

Back to the Future's script, almost as much as its look, mark it as a product of the 1980s. Consider the Doc Brown of 1955, who, upon learning that his future self wears a radiation suit, concludes that the reason is "all the fallout from the atomic wars." By 1985, nuclear war was considered unlikely enough to be funny, but the memory of the fear of it was still near enough for audiences to get the joke. The characterizations in Back to the Future are also shaped by '80s sensibilities, not only in Marty McFly's slang-slinging, rock-loving, denim-clad teen, but in the different "present day" versions of his parents, George and Lorraine. In one timeline, the distinctly old- fashioned McFlys are at the mercy of a stylish, macho go-getter, while in a "better" timeline they are sporty and flaunt their economic status. Their success may well have been presented differently had the film been made 10 years earlier or later when the middle class ideal was something other than a track suit and a ranch house. The time capsule that is "Back to the Future" remains engaging and entertaining today partly despite and partly because of its clear position on our reality's timeline.