Back to the Future (1985)

 

If you need a definition of a classic, this is probably one of them. Not only is the story engraved into countless hearts and minds, phrases from this film have entered the vernacular and even if you haven't seen this film, you at least have an inkling of an idea what it is all about. 

Also, if you haven't seen this one yet, maybe now would be a good time to start.

High school student Marty McFly is a bit of an outsider. His family are either morons or wusses and he is clearly too clever for them. So he hangs around with a strange inventor named Doc Brown. One day, it turns out Doc has invented a time machine, but while testing it, they are attacked by some Libyans the Doc had swindled out of plutonium that he needed. When the Doc is gunned down, Marty has no other choice but to escape in the time machine (that happens to be a car, by the way) and he emerges in the year 1955. Now he has to look up that version of the Doc if he wants to come back to 1985, but things get rather complicated when his mother falls in love with him. Now Marty has to make doubly sure that his parents actually fall in love so he can exist ànd make it back to 1985, preferably to stop Doc Brown from dying. 

This one is solid, not only because the direting of Robert Zemeckis is so spot on. What really makes this film and its rather bizarre premisse work, is the script: the writing is so well done. Every character is well defined, everyone has lines that are instantly memorable and the situations are played a little tongue-in-cheek, but not too much. You still get the feeling that there are real stakes here, even if it is just a lighthearted adventure. 

Kudos to the casting too. Christopher Lloyd is brilliant as the eccentric Doc Brown, but Michael J Fox nails it as Marty. He is a fun character, who feels very much like a fish out of water and even though he is not without his flaws, you just instantly root for him. And have I mentioned that this franchise introduced the world to one of its great 'villains' in Biff? A big bully so despicable yet so relatable that it almost seems uncanny? Everyone in the world has had his or her version of a Biff in high school or later in life, so they nailed it. 

What else is there to say? The soundtrack is stellar, the tense moments are so adequately done that you'll be on the edge of your seat and there is levity and humour throughout. This is a very well put together film. 

But go and watch it for yourself. You will not be disappointed.