500WOL Review of Back to the Future
Side-note: 500WOL = 500 Words or Less
Original Article Can Be Found Here
I don’t have a list of perfect films. I don’t have a list of perfect screenplays. But I do know that if I ever decided to lock myself in a dungeon for a year and compiled a list of everything I have watched and deemed perfect, Back to the Future will be on both lists, guaranteed. This is the pinnacle of science fiction, the pinnacle of clever writing, the peak of 1980s filmmaking.
What’s most important in a science fiction flick is the heart and soul that should be at the core. Whether that core is about lost love like in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or about free will like in Minority Report, the wild fictional elements should be supported by the overall themes of the plot. Back to the Future is a love story plain and simple in multiple varieties; its Marty’s quest to make sure his parents fall in love so he can get back to his own love---before his existence is erased. Also, it’s loosely about Doc Brown’s love of science and discovery that is so deep it might get him killed.
The screenplay presents all the necessary plotlines and details within the first fifteen minutes. And every single little detail within the opening act has an importance that ultimately pays off in spades in the rest of the film---whether it’s the history of the clock tower or even the geography Hill Valley which cleverly was unveiled before the main plot takes off…in reverse chronological order anyway. But what good is a script if the actors are terrible? Michael J. Fox is absolutely perfect as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd was just as superb portraying the eccentric Doc Brown. And of course, special kudos to the excellent performances of Thomas F. Wilson as eternal asshole Biff Tannen and Crispin Glover as George.
A good script also stays one step ahead of you without dumbing anything down or behaving cheap. Back to the Future will also deliver a few surprises and thrilling sequences especially towards the finale when our lead kickass hero has only one opportunity to return back to the present, and obstacles keep popping up between his attempts of being Cupid and being able to escape the timeline intact and without any dangerous ramifications. And since it’s the 1980s, it wasn’t afraid of entering some very bizarre territory including Marty’s mom falling for…Marty. This is an extremely underrated aspect of Back to the Future, its ballsy factor of toying with the already-complicated concept of time travel.
Robert Zemeckis is at his best when he puts equal efforts on the special effects and the production design. This is why Forrest Gump is a masterpiece, and why Welcome to Marwen feels so empty. What I don’t understand why to this day is the Academy’s complete ignoring of this film back in 1985 (they also ignored Breakfast Club and The Goonies). Easily the best film of 1985, a must-watch for any fan of cinema.
Score: 10/10