SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
THIS MOTION PICTURE IS OFFICIALLY AN AFFILIATE OF THE FILMMAKING PARAGONS.
Back to the Future is an incredible science fiction franchise that gives any time travel piece that comes after it a run for its money! It has a swagger and charm to it, but most important of all, an extremely robust quality writing that many wannabe blockbusters lack!
You're fed every information you need to follow suit the plot in a steady fashion. From the mayor to the lightning-stricken clocktower, you're inaugurated into the world of 1985 Hill Valley, its colorful characters and their relationships. Marty's (Michael J. Fox) parents aren't exactly jumbo winners. His father is a timid coward constantly bullied by Biff (Thomas F. Wilson). The mother on the other hand has put up with this rather mediocre, complacent family. When Doc Brown (Christopher Llyod) invites Marty for a help with his science project, little does our protagonist know that driving a DeLorean 88 miles per hour powered by 1.21 gigawatts would sent him thirty years back into the past! The core conflict starts from there. Marty is saved by his younger mum and now she is in love with him! As a result, she's been avoiding Marty's father, eventually erasing Marty's existence in the future. How does poor Marty goes about solving this forms the crux!
Turns out, everything happens for the better. As soon as Marty returns to his present time, he discovers his family is no longer a bum! His father is an author and they are wealthy! Even Doc Brown's death is avoided! But the path to reach this isn't easy at all! The constant hard flirting by his future mother, little Uncle Joey behind baby bars, meeting with younger Emmett Brown to figure the way out of this without plutonium charge, Marty coaching his dad to get his mom, supplying the 'Mayor idea' to Goldie (Donald Fullilove), Marty finally playing the Rock n' Roll he has always shun from in 1955 are some of the most hilarious struggles you'll ever see!
The climax alone deserves a full page writeup! Every last living second leading up to the lightning arrival to hit the clock tower has been squeezed thin for all of its tension juice worth! You'll have to watch it for yourself to believe it! Couple this with the painful difficulty to tell Doc Brown he died in 1985, this finale sequence is easily one of the best ever written and made! This golden climax is a writing pattern you'll see in the entire series!
Visual storytelling in this feature is off the charts! From introducing the scientist we haven't met by touring his room while passing by the TV news that announces a plutonium theft case before revealing said item hidden under his bed is marvelous screenwriting! The lines are epic with brilliant use of irony, catchphrases and repetition! The writers knew how to plant the right advise by Marty in the past so that it will either trigger an event in the future, reflect and/or passed onto himself in 1985, which includes the inspiration behind naming him Marty!
Back to the Future being one of the first films to popularize time travel must have blown everyone's brains out when it first came out! And it still damn well does! The editing is bar perfect none! The shots just flow! Marty strumming his guitar in front of a giant speaker and hitchhiking to school on the back of vehicles using his skateboard are some examples of swagger aforementioned! With the DeLorean being able to fly now and Doc Brown fetching Marty to correct something in the future, we'll see where the sequel's headed!