By LINDSI HEBERT, Staff Reporter.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis and released in 1985, “Back to the Future” tells a story about going back to the past. It starts with Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), a typical teenage boy in the 80’s. Plays guitar, has a cute girlfriend and is friends with a nearly bat crap crazy scientist named Dr. Emmett Brown or Doc to his friends (Christopher Lloyd.) Dr. Brown reveals to Marty that he created a plutonium powered DeLorean time machine that he wishes to test with Marty. Obviously, because he’s a teenage boy that doesn’t think about consequences very much, he agrees to help. During the test, they get attacked by terrorists and Doc gets killed. The only way that Marty escapes is to go to the past.
Marty travels to the past, crashes the DeLorean and is now trapped in the 1950’s. After getting hit by a car Marty narrowly avoids a very awkward sexual confrontation with his mother. Unfortunately, Marty has now messed up the past and has run the risk of ruining his future. Faced with the obstacles of getting his love-struck mother to fall for his dorky father, Marty must find his way… back to the future.
Corny 80’s movie clichés aside, “Back to the Future” is an awesome movie, and not for nostalgia’s sake, either. Marty McFly was what every teenage boy wanted to be back then. Cool, rebellious and popular with the ladies. He’s a good main character to watch on screen because you know he’s going to win, because his character trope ALWAYS wins. He’s the lovable oaf, the cool guy. You’re pulling for him.
Looking back, it is a little hard to see how “Back to the Future” could have gotten popular enough for two, albeit bad, sequels. Even now, it’s still popular, and is played in small theaters that specialize in older throwback movies. The effects are bad, even for an 80’s movie. The plot is based around accidentally making your mom fall in love with you, which is creepy. But that’s what makes the movie so much fun.
Obviously, “Back to the Future” has some problems. It’s mainly got to do with the graphics, but they’re forgettable. The good outweighs the bad tenfold. On top of the amazing ending, which I won’t delve into as much as I want, the entire film is fun. The weird culture clash of the 80’s coming into play with the 50’s is an interesting way to create mild conflict for Marty and is pretty funny most of the time. It is sometimes odd though, considering people don’t seem to notice these odd little quirks he’s having, like when he tries to twist off the cap for a Coke when he actually needed to use the bottle opener, or asks for a Diet Coke instead. I like the added detail those things bring.The way Marty inadvertently changes the future is awesome, too. Of course, there’s the obvious “Oh no my parents aren’t together and me and my brother and sister are going to disappear” main conflict. There are other, smaller things that Marty interacts with that make the future change for him, the town and the entire world. I won’t tell you what they are because these details are better enjoyed when you watch “Back to the Future” for yourself.
I love this film a great deal. I grew up watching this movie and its later sequels, and honestly it’s still entertaining no matter how often I watch it. On a scale of one to five gummy bears, with five being the highest, “Back to the Future” travels through time to get a three out of five gummy bears.
