A Movie Review of Back to The Future, a Science Fiction Film by Robert Zemeckis

The movie, Back to the Future, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is known as a classic to many movie buffs. Created in the year 1985, Robert Zemeckis makes full use of his creative tools and the budget of 19 million USD, to create a magnificent story of the popular genre of time travel, elevating the work of art into a masterpiece of science fiction. The science fiction movie raked in a total of 381.1 million USD, a 362.1 million USD profit. Surrounding the theme of time, Zemeckis addresses the popular statement and excuses children uses to their parents of how the parents “don’t understand their them” as they have not been through the same experience.

The story starts with the introduction of the protagonist, a caucasian high school teenager Marty McFly, casted by Michael J. Fox from the sitcom Spin City, known for being a delinquent at the school. Marty’s main focus in life was to impress his girlfriend, Jennifer, and play with his band in front of many people. However, this all changes in an instant when Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd from The Addams Family), your typical frizzy hair, white lab coat mad scientist with wild crazy eyes, and a very close friend of Marty, invites Marty to the parking lot of the local shopping mall at the break of dawn.

Awaiting Marty was a beautifully customized car, a De Lorean to be specific, Dr. Brown, and Einstein, Dr.Brown’s dog. Little did Marty know, a leap in scientific history stood right in front of him. The De Lorean was in fact a time machine, the life long dream and a masterpiece created by Dr.Brown. Fueled by plutonium, the car is able to travel through the flux of time, instantly transporting the passengers to their desired era. The machine works and after a series of events, Marty is transported 30 years back in time to November 5, 1955, the time where Dr.Brown first got his idea for the time machine. It was also the time his parents were in high school and fell in love.

The use of vast props and the lack of Computer Generated Imagery, also known as CGI, really brings in the real-life feel into the science fiction film. The focus of the movie, centered around how each action and interaction Marty has with others in the past can affect the future where he’s from, is mainly surrounded by the actor’s interaction with props and each other. The only use of CGI was to visualize the effects from using the time machine, the lightning, and the amplifier Marty uses early on in the movie. Everything else was created through the use of props. This technique exalts Zemeckis’s ability as a director as he is able to create a masterpiece of science fiction enjoyed by millions of people with even several hardcore fan base around it.

Each prop and actor’s lines has a weight throughout the movie, from comedy to drama. The cinematography, from the lighting to the camera positioning, is perfectly synced throughout the film. During scenes of action and chases, the music picks up pace, synchronizing with the pace of the action. Each sound, each noise, effectively enhances the scenes, from sensory details to the emotions appealed to.

With the lack of computer generated imagery, Zemeckis creates a realistic science fictional movie unparalleled to any other film even now. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the film, from the nerdy father to the comedic repetition of scenes and quotes in time. Even if you are not a fan of old films, Back to The Future is a classic you must watch.