Mini Film Review – Back to the Future (1985)

A good film should be able to be seen over and over without getting stale, for me Back to the Futureis this work of art.

In 1985 Robert Zemeckis (known for Romancing the Stone) and Bob Gale gave the world a wonderful science-fiction-romantic-comedy in the guise of this film, starring the then mega-star Michael J. Fox and the wonderful Christopher Lloyd, the pair having wonderful chemistry on stage, assisting in the immersion into this wonderful world, where anything is possible with the power of science.

Back to the Future’s premise is very simple; young teenager Marty McFly (Fox) finds himself trapped in 1955, the time when his own parents met and fell in love, when an experiment test becomes dire in the present of 1985 with the nutty professor “Doc” (Llyod) getting gunned down by terrorists before his very eyes. Stuck in this era he seeks the aid of the young Doc, whom starts very sceptical of his claimed origins; however disaster strikes when he unintentionally ruins the meeting of his parents, his own young mother falling in love with him. The rest of the film is a very funny and sweet romantic comedy, Marty having to teach his own wimpy father (Crispin Glover) to be a man, while avoiding the ever increasing advances of his own mother.

The very small scale of the film gives it timeless charm, sticking to the one town and at that only a few locations, along with the strong focus on character within the star studded cast. The inclusion of Sci-fi elements allows one to become immersed in the possibility of such an event occurring, yet their avoidance of making this the focus of the film means you doubt the believability flaws less and less prevalently.

The focus on the love story over the getting home part works wonders, and allows for comedy to bloom in almost every scene, despite the very desperate nature of Marty’s situation, only having a few days to reunite his parents before he himself ceases to be. The score is very of it’s time and helps keep the time zones very distinct , The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News being the film’s major theme suits the story perfectly.

Overall a recommended see, buy and share with as many people as possible, the first in this trilogy is not something you should miss regardless of whether you choose to continue watching the film-series.

Rating - 

Direction - 5/5

Soundtrack -5/5

Plot - 5/5

Characters - 5/5

Overall - 20/20