Back to the Future

If you're looking for a fun (and somewhat comedic) science fiction movie, Back to the Future more than fits the bill. With a great, over the top comedic performance from Christopher Lloyd and more pop culture references than you can shake a stick at, this has to be one of the more enjoyable SciFi/Comedy movies ever made.

Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is your average teenager except for his friend Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd), the town's crazy but likable scientist. For all his wacky (and useless) inventions, Doc Brown actually comes up with one that works: a time machine made out of a DeLorean. Marty doesn't believe Doc but agrees to meet him at the Twin Pines Mall for a demonstration of his new invention. After witnessing Einstein (Doc's dog) travel one minute into the future, Marty believes that Doc's time machine actually works. Unfortunately for Doc, the Libyan terrorists who Doc stole the plutonium from that powers his time machine have found him and are seeking revenge for the theft. Doc draws the attention (and gunfire) of the terrorists so Marty can escape but is shot and killed in the process.

After witnessing Doc's death, Marty realizes that if he doesn't escape the terrorists will kill him next. Using the time machine to outrun the terrorists, Marty accidently activates it and ends up traveling back in time to 1955 where his father George McFly (Crispin Glover) is a nerdy teenager, his mother Lorraine (Lea Thompson) is one of the more popular girls in school and Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) is his father's bully arch nemesis.

In the process of interacting with 1955 and his parents, Marty accidentally becomes the object of his future mother's affection, creating a future where his parents never get married and he is never born. Stuck in 1955, Marty must find a way to reunite his parents so that he can restore his own future and locate fuel for the DeLorean time machine so that he can return to his own time of 1985.

Back to the Future is one of those movies that is almost "too goofy", but it ends up working and for one main reason: Michael J. Fox. When executives were casting for the part of Marty McFly, Fox was their first choice but he originally turned down the role due to a busy filming schedule for his TV show Family Ties. In place of Fox they cast Eric Stoltz -- a very capable actor, but not really suited for this role. Fortunately, Steven Spielberg ended up convincing Fox to take the part. Fox's light and somewhat goofy take on the Marty McFly character brings just the right amount of comedy to the film. Never over the top but always just on the edge of outright slapstick, Fox keeps the movie entertaining and fun throughout.

Having seen Back to the Future in a movie theater when it first came out in 1985, I remember thinking that it was going to be too much of a physical comedy and end up being ridiculous. But in the end it turned out to be a classic SciFi Comedy that has actually held up well over the years.

More Back to the Future Movie Reviews

Back to the Future Review at Movie Gazette
Movie Review of Back to the Future from Qwipster