Back to the Future (1985)

100th Review!!

Time travel is a commonly used element in science fiction that can either make or break any form of media depending on what format it's utilizing. Some of these types include creating an alternate timeline in attempting to prevent an event from happening (making things better or worse in the process), finding out that the main protagonist is involved in a time loop (learning some events are destined to happen because of the usage), or anything in between. The logical questions that come from choices made can affect your enjoyment of how it's executed. This brings us to the 1985 classic with such a mechanic, Back to the Future, directed and co-written by Robert Zemeckis. I never fully watched this before and knowing about its cultural importance made this a bucket list movie I felt was appropriate to celebrate the 100th review milestone for this blog. Before I set out to accomplish that goal, I had an idea of what the premise was but never knew how it was carried out. However, after I finished seeing Back to the Future, I fell in love with the level of care that went into making this one of the best science fiction comedies I've ever seen and I understand why people are still enamored with it to this today.

Plot: The story follows a teenagers quest to make sure his parents meet for the first time after traveling 30 years to the past and accidentally altering events that affect his existence. The best feature about the premise is how important pieces of history are brought to the audiences attention within the first 15 minutes to remember and keep in mind while the protagonist is bumbling around. The mundane lack of energy in his present life clashes with his spunky ambitious attitude, which is fascinating when he observes his teenaged versions of his future parents in the 1950s. The manner in how the main lead learns to adapt and behave around a delicate situation is both hilarious and admirable since many of his attempts tend to have him bring up things that weren't even created yet through verbal or physical means.

Another factor that's worth the watch is our protagonists strange but endearing connections with those he interacts with among the core main three. The writing surrounding those relationships demonstrates the effort put into making this adventure filled with investment. You want to see these people succeed in a manner appropriate with their goals but it won't be easy as many factors aren't in their control. The humor and creativity that ties everything together is in abundance from start to finish. While knowing that the sequels exist, the third act delivers on making the stakes heightened and earned from the quality time spent with these relatable people whose endeavors to have good lives are worth rooting for in an underdog type of manner. For an added fun, count the number of ways the future is altered throughout the film.

Characters: The people to focus on are Marty McFly (Michael J Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), George McFly (Crispin Glover), and Lorraine McFly (Lea Thompson). Marty is a well-intentioned but reckless teenager whose existence is threatened by the chain of events he causes in the 1950s. Michael is great in this iconic role from his career as his charisma and comedic timing as his character is oblivious to any changes to history in his quest to make his parents fall in love. Doc Brown is an eccentric scientist who invented the famous time traveling DeLorean and assists our young lead in his 1950s conundrum. It's easy to see why audiences hold this close to their favorites as Christopher Lloyd is having the time of his life as the very quotable iconic genius.

George is Marty's insecure cowardly father who undergoes abuse from a bully that scarred his life. Crispin is excellent in being empathetic in his shy performance that adds an underdog element to the story. Lorraine is Marty's curious and fearless mother trying to figure out her path at a young age. Lea is very solid at displaying a range of emotions for a variety of scenes she has whether it's showing infatuation or being fearful for her own well-being. An honorable mention goes to Biff Tannen (Thomas F Wilson) for being a watchable bully you love to hate.

Overall Consensus: Back to the Future shines strong through its great script structure, relatable characters, abundance of light hearted humor, strong cast performances, and wonderful spirit. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿 Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes PG

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You are a fan of time travel stories. You want to see how much reality is altered in this adventure. You enjoy underdog stories and plenty of swearing in 1980s PG movies.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You aren't a fan of time travel stories. You don't enjoy underdog stories and plenty of swearing in 1980s PG movies.

Coming up next: Taking on a classic such as this was such a great choice to do for the 100th review special. Having been doing a long stretch of current mainstream films throughout the year made me forget another reason why I chose to do this blog: to chronicle my journey into uncharted relics of the past I never gave a chance to view, share my thoughts, and learn through experience why they are held in their respective praises. Starting off July in such a manner reminded me of this and I will make a habit of digging up those older films at least once a month. However, we're halfway through the summer at this point and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has one more gift before they part away from 2018 to work on upcoming projects. Tune in next time as Screening Spectacles will watch and review the 20th entry in that enormous series of superheroes stories, Ant-Man and the Wasp!