“Back to the Future” is one of the earliest portrayals of one of the most debated questions in the world: “What if you could travel through time?” It celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and it takes you through an incredible old time adventure.
The 1985 film follows teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) as he travels back to the past using the DeLorean time machine built by his best friend, eccentric scientist Doc Emmet Brown (Christopher Lloyd). Marty is accidentally sent back in time to the 1950s after trying to escape from Libyan terrorists that Doc got in trouble with. He quickly realizes he is now the same age as his own parents and inadvertently ruins his parents’ love story when he saves his father’s life, leading to his mother awkwardly falling in love with Marty instead. The film portrays Marty’s attempts to get his parents together in order for him to exist and Marty’s desperate attempts to get back to his own time to save Doc.
It’s an iconic film with many comedic moments, such as when Marty was running from a group of bullies only for them to end up covered in a truckload of one D. Jones’ Manure Hauling, or when Marty does an epic guitar solo of Johnny B. Goode only for Chuck Berry to get inspiration for his own song from Marty’s rendition.
Even better, there are some moments when you are on the edge of your seat. An example would be when Marty is counting down the seconds as his siblings steadily disappear from existence and he desperately tries to get his parents together. Another on-the-edge-of-the-seat moment is when Marty is desperately trying to escape from the Libyan terrorists as he is getting closer and closer to crashing before reaching 88 mph and finding himself crashing into a scarecrow at a different time.
The film was the highest-grossing film of 1985 and was well-received overall, especially amongst the younger generation of the time. Its actors went on to celebrate much success, especially Fox, who experienced success, but not in the way he had planned. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 which spurred him to create the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to fund research for a cure. His work with this foundation has led to a recently awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Though Fox stopped acting, it must be said that he, along with all the other actors, did a phenomenal job at delivering their characters’ personalities to the big screen. Lloyd was the perfect mad scientist with crazy hair and a smug look on his face as he was explaining his greatest invention: the time machine. Fox perfectly captures a reckless teenager with a little swagger in his step and no hesitation shown as he jumps into whatever chaos he can find.
You will find yourself traveling back to the 1980’s and if you really want a shock; watch a movie that recently came out and see just how much has changed.
