Back to the Future (Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd) 1/2
Marty McFly:Doc, are you trying to tell me that my mother has got the hots for me? Dr. Emmet Brown:Precisely. Marty McFly:Whoa, this is heavy.
One perfunctory glance at the production credits solidifies Back to the Future as a good time before it even begins. Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) has remained one of Hollywood's most creative directors of the past two decades; someone who chooses his projects for their innate fun factor, which is greatly appreciated. He is joined by Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall as executive producers, whose producing credits together also include Gremlins, the Goonies and the Indiana Jones trilogy. Zemeckis co-wrote the screenplay, and his prior work on series such as Tales from the Crypt and Amazing Stories gives the film an almost Ray Bradbury-like look and feel. With this kind of craftmanship onboard, it's a project destined to succeed and it does.
The film is essentially a time-travel piece, but with less tech-talk and more humour. Michael J. Fox is Marty McFly, a skateboarding high schooler in 1985 with a grease-haired weakling for a father (Crispin Glover) and a depressed alcoholic for a mother (Lea Thompson). He has a girlfriend, but his best friend is the eccentric local scientist, Doctor Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd). One night, Marty and Doc undergo an experiment using a De Lorean that, when it hits 88 miles per hour (!), activates a "flux capacitor" and makes time travel possible. One snag -- the machine runs on plutonium stolen from Libyan terrorists, and when the owners come looking for it, Marty is accidentally sent back to 1955 without enough juice to get back to the future.
Marty's conundrums in the the past provide lots of smiles, thanks in large part to the crisp and witty dialogue. Many of the lines are referential and prove important in later -- or earlier -- scenes. It was great for me to see the movie again after all these years. I'd almost forgotten some parts, including the genuine tension in the final clock tower sequence, the funny scenes in the diner, and a visit from Darth Vader of the planet Vulcan.
The young ensemble cast really brings the material to life, sometimes playing 2 or 3 parts throughout the movie. By this, I mean they are portraying their characters in the present, then in the past, then in a changed present -- or who they are, who they were, and who they could be. It sounds quite confusing, but the screenplay is surprisingly methodical and easy to follow. Michael J. Fox is well cast in the role that really launched his career into super-stardom. Look for cameos by Huey Lewis as a high school band adjudicator, character actor Elsa Raven as the clocktower lady, and a pre-Titanic Billy Zane as a bully.
Back to the Future spawned two sequels, released back-to-back in 1989 and 1990. I enjoyed Part 2 as much as the first one, with its labyrinthine plot and surreal situations, but most fans prefer the first installment best. It shows a young kid getting to see and change his own destiny and provides plenty of chuckles at the same time.
