Back to the Future – As good as it ever was

There are some films that are just timeless and everyone should watch (especially in today’s climate of remakes, reboots and reimaginings).  Basically, see it before it gets horribly remade with overblown computer effects and wafer-thin characters that you simply just don’t care about.  By now, you can probably already tell that I love this film and I’m effectively going to ‘gush’ about it, so if you just want to accept now that it’s a definite 10/10 you might as well stop reading now.  However, if you’re vaguely interested as to why I think it’s so – technically – perfect, then feel free to read on.

In case you’re one of the few people that have been living in 1955 all your life and have only just arrived in our year courtesy of a time machine, you may need to know that ‘Back to the Future’ is about time travelling.  Marty McFly, played by the ever youthful Michael J Fox, gets caught up in eccentric inventor, Doc Brown’s, latest scheme to build a time machine out of a DeLorean car.  Naturally, things don’t go smoothly as he inadvertently ends up in 1955 and accidentally interferes with the very moment his parents got together, therefore possibly preventing him from every being conceived.  If this wasn’t bad enough, he’s only got a one-shot chance at returning to his own time thanks to a lightning bolt due to power his time machine for the return trip.

I think what makes this film stand the tests of time is the fact that it is a true ‘family’ film.  Whereas most films which can be watched by children are largely aimed ONLY at them and force the adults to sit through it until it’s over, I can’t imagine anyone – male/female, young/old – not actually finding enjoyment out of this adventure.  It’s funny without ever being childish or vulgar, exciting without ever being over the top or unrealistic (if you’re willing to suspend your disbelief enough to believe that time travel is actually possible) and, of course, it contains some of the most memorable characters ever committed to film.  Naturally, our dashing young hero, Marty, is very easy to root for, however it’s his cranky old sidekick ‘Doc’, played perfectly by Christopher Lloyd who steals every scene and is the true joy to watch all the way through.  It’s also worth mentioning that Marty’s on-screen family also can hold their own, played different versions of themselves throughout the time periods, but special mention should go a character who should – by rights – be little more than a stereotypical bully, yet ‘Biff’ somehow becomes the clichéd bully that all other on-screen thugs aspire to be ever after.

If this film has a downside – and I’m only mentioning this because I can see that some people may have a problem with it these days (I didn’t and still don’t!) it’s that there are a few topics of humour that some people may find a little ‘edgy’ in today’s PC culture.  For some reason I get the feeling that today any ‘family’ movie may shy away from a mother inadvertently falling in love with her son, but it was the eighties and things were different then!

There aren’t many movies that still can bring a family together around the TV in the living room on Christmas Day, but this is still one of them.  If you haven’t already brought the entire trilogy on DVD, then watch it now and show your children.  It deserves to entertain future generations.  Yes, the following two ‘Back to the Future’ movies weren’t quite so well-received by the critics, but I think they’re great, too. 

10/10 The Monty Python Knights of Camelot are currently looking for this