Back to the Future

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Back to the Future follows Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly as he travels back 30 years in a time machine invented by Christopher Lloyd’s Doc Brown and eventually sets out to ensure his parents (Crispin Glover’s George and Lea Thompson’s Lorraine) get together. It’s an agreeably larger-than-life setup that’s employed to engrossing and flat-out enthralling effect by Zemeckis, as the filmmaker, working from a script written with Bob Gale, delivers a blisteringly-paced endeavor that’s been augmented with a whole host of appealing, compelling elements – with, especially, the progressively enthralling atmosphere enhanced and heightened by uniformly flawless (and decidedly spellbinding) performances. (And it doesn’t hurt, either, that there exists a palpable and irresistible chemistry between Fox and Lloyd’s respective protagonists.) The propulsive atmosphere, which kicks into high gear after Marty finds himself in 1955, paves the way for an often mesmerizing midsection that boasts several completely captivating set-pieces, including a skateboard chase around the town square, while the tense, gripping finale ensures that the whole thing concludes on just about as memorable and positive a note as one could possibly envision – which does, in the end, cement Back to the Future‘s place as a timeless masterpiece that remains one of the very best films to ever emerge out of Hollywood.

**** out of ****