'Back To The Future' 30th Anniversary Reviews

Given that today is October 21, 2015 the day Marty McFly travels into the future I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to review all three Back To The Future films. This year is also the 30th anniversary so today seemed like a perfect day to do it considering it's Back To The Future Day. I attended a triple feature that screened all three films in a marathon at a local theater and it was an awesome experience to see them on the big screen, especially since they were released before I was even born. 

'Back To The Future' Review

Nominated For: Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Song "The Power Of Love" (written by Chris Hayes, Johnny Colla, and Huey Lewis).

Won: Best Sound Editing.

Back To The Future is a classic. It boasts great visual effects, an interesting story, and some great performances that really add to the experience. Robert Zemeckis brings all of these elements together to create a great film. Fun fact, there are only a few special effects shots added in the film and a majority of the visuals are actually practical effects. This really adds to how incredible these visuals are considering a majority of them were done practically. The film's story also has a interesting premise with great writing that blends sci-fi, romance, and comedy quite effectively. In regards to performances, Michael J. Fox is a perfect casting choice for Marty McFly and really embodies the persona of the character quite well. Christopher Lloyd is a constant presence on screen with real emotive facial expressions that are very engaging and keep the film all the more interesting during the more dialogue heavy scenes, especially the ones explain the "science" of time travel, etc. Overall Back To The Future is one of my favorite films and I consider it to be among some of the best films ever made as it has all the qualities that I believe make a film great. I also thoroughly enjoyed watching it on the big screen as I had only previously seen it on a television so this was quite the experience!

Film Assessment: A+

'Back To The Future Part II' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects.

Back To The Future Part II is just as enjoyable as the original, but in my opinion the original is much better structurally as a film. The second installment picks up right where the original leaves off which is one of the aspects that I really like about the Back To The Future films. This film maintains all the charm of the original but as a whole somewhat feels like a retreading of the same type of situations with similar outcomes which is what holds it back from being as great as the original in my opinion. One aspect that I love about this film however is the bold predictions the film makers made about what they believed 2015 could potentially be like and now to see we have arrived to that specific day it's fun to look back and see just how many things were predicted correctly. I also liked that although it positions the characters in similar situations they added slight twists that differentiated it from the exact situation from the original. In regards to the performances, Fox and Lloyd once again give terrific performances as their respective characters who are always a joy to see onscreen. the writing, visual effects are all terrific once again but I feel the weaker point of this film is it's story. At least how the story of this film compares to the original because of how similar it is despite different plot points. Overall, I really enjoy the sequel just not quite as much as Back To The Future.

Film Assessment: A-

'Back To The Future Part III' Review

Back To The Future Part III is an enjoyable film, but I think it's the weakest of the trilogy. The third installment once again picks up right where the original leaves off which is one of the aspects that I really like about the Back To The Future films. This film maintains all the charm of the previous films with great writing and visual effects once again but as a whole somewhat feels again as though it is a retreading of the same type of situations with similar outcomes. It was interesting to see this film as more of a Western and seeing Marty and Doc in that type of environment.  In regards to the performances, Fox and Lloyd once again give it their all and are as enjoyable as ever. There was one part of the story that I have mixed perceptions of though and that is the love subplot with Doc. I liked that it added more depth to his character but I felt that it dragged the story a bit at times. Overall, Back To The Future Part III is a great film but not quite as great as it's predecessors.

Film Assessment: B-