Before I get into this, I want to describe how I was first introduced to “Back to the Future.” It was late one night, and I walked in on a couple of my siblings watching the climax of the second film, when Marty rides his hover board in the tunnel after getting the almanac from Biff. I asked them what was going on, and they described it by telling me that the skateboarder had a magazine from the future that he has to destroy, or else the guy chasing him will vote for all the winners and win money and ruin everyone’s lives. I then sat down to watch the rest of whatever this was, and by the end, I wanted to see more of it. Years later, I got a chance to witness the trilogy on G4 when it was still there, and witness all of the films for the first time in a row. And that’s how I was introduced to “Back to the Future.”
The
first film in the series chronicles the life of Marty McFly, a teenage kid
whose family isn’t in the best spot as of now and his dad still being picked on
by his high school bully, Biff Tannen. Marty’s friend, Doctor Emmett Brown,
then reveals to him a time machine he made out of a DeLorean, and it works out
successfully. However, after Doc is gunned down, Marty jumps into the DeLorean
and finds himself back in 1955. Now Marty has to find Doc in that time, and get
back to the future, all the while trying to fix up a couple mistakes he made
along the way.
In the
second film, Marty returns to a much better 1985, just in time for his date,
only for Doc to take him and his girlfriend to the future of 2015. There, they
need to fix up the problems that their kids go through and make sure their
future doesn’t turn out for the worst. However, their problems become more
hectic when 2015 Biff travels back to 1955 with the sports almanac to alter the
future further, and now Marty has to stop him once again.
And
in the third film, after Doc Brown and the DeLorean are struck by lightning in
1955, Marty goes to the 1955 Doc to find the DeLorean hidden to get him back
home. Instead of doing that, Marty goes back to 1885 where Doc was and bring
him home, only to then deal with Biff’s ancestor, “Mad Dog” Tannen.
What
makes this trilogy so damn memorable is our two main leads. Michael J. Fox IS
Marty McFly, and he really has the right charisma and attitude for the
character. He’s funny, he’s charming, he’s smart, and most importantly,
likable. Interesting fact: Michael J. Fox at first couldn’t take the role of
Marty, because of his schedule with the sitcom “Family Ties,” so the role went to
Eric Stotz. However, once Fox was available in his schedule, Stotz was booted
off the project, even after weeks of filming, and Fox was put into
his place like intended. Then we have Doc Brown played by Christopher Lloyd,
who truly embodies the scientist archetype to a new height. This has been one
of Lloyd’s two most memorable roles, with the other being Judge Doom from “Who
Framed Roger Rabbit?” another Zemeckis film. A lot of the lings that Doc says
really do add a great deal of humor to the series, especially in the first film
when he questions Marty’s 80’s dialogue. Of course we can’t forget Thomas F.
Wilson as Biff Tannen. While he is the bully archetype that we’ve seen
constantly in films, Wilson’s performance is just so damn good because of how
far he takes it. I mean, this is a guy who borrows somebody’s car, crashes it,
and bitches at them for the accident. Like, oh my god, what is wrong with this
guy? You can't help but laugh at how unrealistic it is.
The
effects are also spectacular. In an era where CGI was just a lost dream and practical
effects still remained king, “Back to the Future” shows us why that is. It
isn’t something we thought was cool but by today looks incredibly dumb like
some films in the 90’s do, these effects ARE STILL MAGNIFICENT.
The film is littered with
so many iconic moments that even some people who may not have seen the movie
can look at it and recognize it or at least get a kick out of it. Not only
scenes, but lines all together, making this one of the most quotable movies to
ever exist, and saying one will always bring a smile to somebody’s face. After
all, it is still a science fiction comedy. Robert Zemeckis and co-writer Bob
Gale really put their best efforts into this, and crafted a film that even with
dated references still holds the test of time…I mean, it has time travel in it,
so yeah.
If I
had to choose a favorite moment from each one of the films, I would say my
favorite moment from the first film is when George McFly finally gives Biff
what he deserves, and that’s a good ol’ punch to the face. In the second film,
it would be when Biff meets his future self and his response is “Get the hell out of
my car, old man!” It’s just such a funny line, it’s hard not to laugh at it. And as for
the third film, it would have to be the train finale, as it really keeps you on
the edge of your seat the whole sequence through. Everything gets riskier and
riskier, that you just hope everything turns out right in the end. Definitely one of the best finales of all time.
Now
with it being October 21, 2015, you might be expecting me to go on a rant about
how “Back to the Future Part II” got so many things wrong, like the self-lacing
shoes and hover-boards, but that’s not what I’m here to do. There are plenty of
films that had different predictions of the future, all of them had different
results and different years, even younger than “Back to the Future
Part II.” We might have expected our futures to come at a specific point in our
lives, but I know that isn’t always going to be the case. Instead of worrying
about why our futures aren’t happening as they are depicted in movies or what
we dream they’ll be, always remember what Doc Brown said: “Your future hasn’t
been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is whatever you make of it. So make it
a good one.” Words to live by.
“Back
to the Future” will always be one of the most iconic trilogies of all time, and
three of my favorite movies. The characters are memorable, the stories
are iconic, the dialogue is genius, all of it is great. If you haven’t seen
these films yet, definitely get the combo pack with all three films, have
yourself a little marathon, because you’re missing out on such iconic cinema.
Rating: 10/10
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