#500 Back to the Future (1985)

Oh wow. The big 500 is finally here.

When starting out the project two years ago I kind of ever really imagined I’d make it this far; five hundred is a big amount of films any way you look at it, but to my surprise it hasn’t been a chore I first anticipated but something I’ve always looked into doing – thanks to some amazing gems I’ve found along the way. While I regret not having the time to write a full review of every single film, that only means I’ve something to do in the round two when I watch these movies again, right?

So, what a better way to celebrate the big number than to say a few words about my favourite movie of the 80s. Beware though as this is not going to be a review in a traditional sense, but much more a fanboy rant.

Back to the Future is a movie that started it all for me. I remember being amazed and obsessed by it when it first came out and when the 80s ended I still kept on going back to it. And that pattern repeated again and again when I found myself in a new decade.

I’ve never fully analysed why the movie rocks and I’m not going to do it this time either. Why? Well, Back to the Future is a kind of a sacred thing to me, it’s a thing of pure magic and something I’d never want to ruin by dissecting, measuring and analysing it.

The work by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale to realise Back to the Future from the early concepts to the final movie is nothing less of amazing and becomes much more obvious if you watch any of the making of videos how the movie came to be. Usually, no matter what the movie is there’s always something I’d change, from pacing to the characters to the plot twist to the ending.

With Back to the Future I’d change nothing.

It’s perfectly executed film and well beyond what I could ever come up with. It’s so well made from the tiniest of the details to all the way to the big picture, it’s a humbling experience to watch every single time.

Finally, Back to the Future gathers together everything I love in the era and its movies. It’s a wonderful adventure with a strong scifi story, great humour, an amazing array of characters, thrill and excitement. It’s one of those rare times in the universe when everything just lines up the perfect way – and the end result is just pure magic.