First Viewing: "Back to the Future"

For whatever reason, watching a movie from the 80s always tends to give me a nostalgic feeling. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, since I was born in 1987, and was obviously too young then to really even remember anything about the decade today.

And yet, there I was, watching "Back to the Future" last night for the first time last night and getting the same bittersweet feeling that I got in me when I first watched "The Terminator" or whenever I listen to the music from "Flashdance." Was I born too late? Was I meant to be a kid of the 80s? Am I just being weird? It's all worth thinking about, I guess.

Having said that, 80s movies aren't always my favorite. Many of them have a distinct, corny"Oh, God, you can tell when they made THIS" sort of feeling about them. I wish I were smart enough to know how to explain what I'm talking about here, but I'm not. But look at "Jaws: The Revenge." Watch "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace." The 8os is the only time when duds such as these could've been made.

It figures that "Back to the Future" isn't one of those movies. It's an 80s movie in the best sort of way. You're always aware of when it was made, right down to the Huey Lewis song that plays during the start of the film, but that just makes you love it more. It's an ingenious, warm and very funny sci-fi film.

"Back in the Future" is so popular that I probably don't need to waste time with much of a plot summary. Long story short, Michael J. Fox plays Marty, a kid with self-confidence issues who's best friends with the possibly mad inventor Doc, played by Christopher Loyd. Doc has invented a car that has the power of time travel, but unfortunately, something goes very wrong in the process of testing it, sending Marty back in time 30 years. Even more unfortunate is that this causes Marty to accidently stop the crucial event in his history in which his parents met. Now, Marty has to figure out a way to get his dad (who's, like, an even bigger wimp than I am) and his mother (who's developed the hots for him) back together, or else he and his siblings will never be born!

For whatever reason, "Back to the Future" was not exactly what I always assumed it to be. I always thought it was more of an action/adventure sort of sci-fi movie. An action movie this really isn't, but the story takes so much advantage of its few action set pieces that it manages to feel epic anyway. Its comedy, while slightly dated here and there (there's a reference to Pepsi Free, which doesn't exist anymore), remains as funny today as it must've been back in 1985. And the heart, while never even remotely sappy, is always extremely warm.

As Marty, Michael J. Fox absolutely shines. He's instantly appealing, funny, and somehow manages to be both dorky and incredibly cool at the same time. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Michael was the Zac Efron of his day, since it's hard to imagine many girls who were his age at the time not being at least slightly attracted to him. Of course, watching the movie has a certain bittersweet quality today, since Fox fell victim to parkinson's disease years ago and hasn't been seen in a movie in ages ("Stuart Little 2" was his last film).

Meanwhile, Christopher Lloyd's Doc is possibly the most madcap performance that the actor ever gave. It's easy to see why the character is considered by many to be his signature role, as Doc has the insane charm that Lloyd is always perfect at bringing to the screen. Also, a shout-out must be given to Crisper Glover, who makes Marty's dad an extremely lovable loser, and one we feel thrilled to see ultimately triumph in the end.

I must take a moment to also compliment this movie's brilliant use of storytelling. For instance, the first shot of the movie, a extended look around Doc's room which must last about two minutes, tells us a ton of information about the character without us even meeting him! From there, the story keeps us hooked, and even though other time travel stories have imitated "Future" over the years, it somehow felt like I was experiencing this sort of thing for the first time while watching it. That's how fresh the movie has remained over the years.

For the first time, I think I understand what people mean when they say they miss the "old" Robert Zemmeckis. While I've enjoyed his motion capture animated movies from the last decade (although I feel that "Beowulf" could've been a whole lot better), there's a real magic going on in his "Back to the Future" that those films are somehow unable to capture. If you haven't seen this movie, by all means, watch it now. I honestly can't think of any reason that you wouldn't enjoy it.