Back to the Future (1985): It's about time -- literally.
Back to the Future was, as Jason pointed out to me, our second Science Fiction film in a row. And all I can say is that Back to the Future does a much better job than Tron did.
There’s so many things I like about this movie. It’s extremely well written, the acting is great, and all around is just a good movie.
As I watched Back to the Future I noticed that it was perfectly timed, in beats and action.
Being a screenwriter, I’ve heard of the “three acts” (as I like to call them) many a times. For those who don’t know, the average length to a script is about 120 pages -- which is about a minute per page equivalent to a two-hour film. The script is then broken down in to three acts from that. The first act is roughly the first thirty pages of the script. The second is the next sixty. And the third act is the last thirty pages.
I feel that Back to the Future is a film that clearly shows the transitions from the different acts. It’s a good film to watch carefully at, and not for that sole reason.
It’s also a great story. Steve Zemeckis and Bob Gale wrote a fantastic screenplay, and it works on screen. Compared to Tron, the characters are much more vivid, and have some life to them.
It’s easy to see that Zemeckis and Gale took their time to write this script, making sure they did all of their research, plotting out little things that become big things. Foreshadow is huge in this film. Small snippets of dialogue makes sense later on in the film. I think this is a very good reason why this film rocks.
There’s not much more to say about the script besides that. It’s one of my favorite stories.
But I think that because of the actors bringing the characters to life definitely helped propel this movie. Michael J. Fox does a great job as Marty McFly. He plays the average teen do a punctuation mark. But enter Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett Brown, and you’ve got yourself a duo that’s just too good...not like Pegg and Frost, but close enough. Honestly, I see Lloyd only as an eccentric scientist bent on finding a working invention in most of his films. It’s odd.
Which now brings me to the three other main characters of the film. Don’t ask me why, but Lea Thompson (who plays Lorraine, Marty’s mom) was hot when she was younger. I mean, have you seen Howard the Duck? What really got to me was how well she played a love interest to Marty -- yeah, she’s supposed to be his mom.
Then the lonely and pathetic George McFly comes in to play. He’s just so helpless, like a lost animal, that you want to help him shack up with Marty’s mom. But I don’t think anyone but Crispin Glover could have done a better job. He just seems to fit the part so well, especially since he’s always playing those smaller parts, and hardly never the lead in any film. But George does prevail over his bully, Biff, played by Thomas F. Wilson.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel that Wilson just looks like a natural bully, and maybe that’s one reason he was cast for the part (or not). I felt that Biff, in all his glory, had a much smaller part in the film than the other actors (but we see more of him in Part Two and Three) and I was hoping for more.
And now finally, the directing. There’s nothing I can’t say about Zemeckis’ directing for this film. He did a wonderful job. Maybe it was because of the grand set designs for Hill Valley, maybe it was because of Zemeckis’ directing, but I really felt like Back to the Future had been made from a time before the ‘80s.
The last thing I can say about this movie would be to recommend it to you if you haven’t seen it. It’s good to study for if you’re looking for a simple story. The script works. It has no flaws that I can see. It even leaves the ending open for the two sequels, which both work as well, making the trilogy flow together like a singular film.
So, here ya’ go; if you haven’t seen Back to the Future, don’t just rent it, BUY it.
There’s so many things I like about this movie. It’s extremely well written, the acting is great, and all around is just a good movie.
As I watched Back to the Future I noticed that it was perfectly timed, in beats and action.
Being a screenwriter, I’ve heard of the “three acts” (as I like to call them) many a times. For those who don’t know, the average length to a script is about 120 pages -- which is about a minute per page equivalent to a two-hour film. The script is then broken down in to three acts from that. The first act is roughly the first thirty pages of the script. The second is the next sixty. And the third act is the last thirty pages.
I feel that Back to the Future is a film that clearly shows the transitions from the different acts. It’s a good film to watch carefully at, and not for that sole reason.
It’s also a great story. Steve Zemeckis and Bob Gale wrote a fantastic screenplay, and it works on screen. Compared to Tron, the characters are much more vivid, and have some life to them.
It’s easy to see that Zemeckis and Gale took their time to write this script, making sure they did all of their research, plotting out little things that become big things. Foreshadow is huge in this film. Small snippets of dialogue makes sense later on in the film. I think this is a very good reason why this film rocks.
There’s not much more to say about the script besides that. It’s one of my favorite stories.
But I think that because of the actors bringing the characters to life definitely helped propel this movie. Michael J. Fox does a great job as Marty McFly. He plays the average teen do a punctuation mark. But enter Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett Brown, and you’ve got yourself a duo that’s just too good...not like Pegg and Frost, but close enough. Honestly, I see Lloyd only as an eccentric scientist bent on finding a working invention in most of his films. It’s odd.
Which now brings me to the three other main characters of the film. Don’t ask me why, but Lea Thompson (who plays Lorraine, Marty’s mom) was hot when she was younger. I mean, have you seen Howard the Duck? What really got to me was how well she played a love interest to Marty -- yeah, she’s supposed to be his mom.
Then the lonely and pathetic George McFly comes in to play. He’s just so helpless, like a lost animal, that you want to help him shack up with Marty’s mom. But I don’t think anyone but Crispin Glover could have done a better job. He just seems to fit the part so well, especially since he’s always playing those smaller parts, and hardly never the lead in any film. But George does prevail over his bully, Biff, played by Thomas F. Wilson.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel that Wilson just looks like a natural bully, and maybe that’s one reason he was cast for the part (or not). I felt that Biff, in all his glory, had a much smaller part in the film than the other actors (but we see more of him in Part Two and Three) and I was hoping for more.
And now finally, the directing. There’s nothing I can’t say about Zemeckis’ directing for this film. He did a wonderful job. Maybe it was because of the grand set designs for Hill Valley, maybe it was because of Zemeckis’ directing, but I really felt like Back to the Future had been made from a time before the ‘80s.
The last thing I can say about this movie would be to recommend it to you if you haven’t seen it. It’s good to study for if you’re looking for a simple story. The script works. It has no flaws that I can see. It even leaves the ending open for the two sequels, which both work as well, making the trilogy flow together like a singular film.
So, here ya’ go; if you haven’t seen Back to the Future, don’t just rent it, BUY it.
The Final Call:
10/10
10/10
Labels: Back to the Future, Review
