40 Years Later, No Time Travel Movie Has Topped This Sci-Fi Masterpiece With 93% on Rotten Tomatoes

Time travel has long been a popular subject in science fiction, with stories from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban exploring the concept of traveling through time. However, no film has done it better than Back To The Future. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the first Back To The Future movie was released on July 3, 1985. It would prove a hit with audiences and critics alike, achieving an impeccable 93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside a 95% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes' Popcorn Meter. Its popularity would secure two sequels, an animated series, various video games, and multiple LEGO sets. Despite there having been no cinematic entries since Back To The Future Part 3, Back To The Future is a series that refuses to die.

A major factor behind Back To The Future's continued popularity across multiple generations is the strength of its first film. The first part of the sci-fi saga involves the young musician and high school student Marty McFly traveling back in time to save his best friend, Doc Brown after Libyan terrorists shoot him. Arriving during his parents' school prom, he inadvertently attracts the romantic attention of his future mother, Lorraine, and must ensure that she ends up with his father, George, to preserve his future. 40 years later, Back To The Future has proven to be a timeless classic.

Bob Gale And Robert Zemeckis's Screenplay Is Fantastic

Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis's screenplay for Back To The Future is fantastic and among the greatest scripts written for a Hollywood blockbuster. The first act establishes Marty's daily life well, depicting how he is a student at Hill Valley High School, and his clear musical talents as a young guitarist. Showing Marty auditioning with his band, the Pinheads, for the school's Battle Of The Bands, shows Marty's strong ambition, to make a successful career out of music. His musical ability pays off superbly later in the movie, when he finds himself performing Johnny Be Goode at the "Enchantment Under The Sea" prom. Marty's home life, and his close connection to his parents, are also made clear early in the film. Focusing on Mart's domestic world ensures audiences will root for George and Lorraine to get together, not because it will secure Marty's existence, but because of how likable they are as characters. Lorraine is a deeply caring soul, while George is a socially awkward nerd, and the pair is endearing to watch.

Without Marty McFly, Doc Brown would not work as well as a character. Doc is a wildly eccentric character, and his exaggerated mannerisms make him highly entertaining. Marty acts as the straight man to Doc's quirkiness, ensuring that Doc does not become too overbearing during Back To The Future's runtime. Doc's intelligence and love for science are clearly defined through the sequences where he shows off the Delorean for the first time, and also when Doc Brown's past self from 1955 discusses with Marty his plan to use the lightning storm to send the time machine back to 1985. Doc's Delorean is a culmination of his life's work, which is why he is so excited to show it to Marty, and his knowledge of time travel reflects how committed he has become to his time travel experiments. Marty's more relatable character as a high-school student during the movie's present-day setting helps to ground Doc and his scientific discovery within the more ordinary workings of then-contemporary America, helping audiences to identify with Marty's journey through time.

Back To The Future's script possesses some of the funniest lines in cinema, too. Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis's knack for comedy is present throughout its runtime. One of its most iconic quotes is Marty's incredulous disbelief that Doc would choose to "build" a time machine out of a DeLorean, because of Doc's unusual choice of car for his time-traveling vehicle. The DeLorean was viewed as an ugly automobile, making it an unlikely pick for such a major scientific discovery as time travel. Another is when Lorraine's past self in 1955 mistakenly believes Marty's real name to be Calvin Klein, because of how the brand is named on the label of Marty's puffer jacket. The humor in Back To The Future is perfect, and comes mostly from the characters' personalities and the time-travel antics, proving how well Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis understand the world they have created, and the people who populate it.

The Chemistry Between Michael J Fox And Christopher Lloyd Is Evident Throughout

Back To The Future would be nothing without its cast, and Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd are the standouts throughout the runtime. In the wrong hands, this odd friendship between a 17-year-old student and a 65-year-old man could be viewed as creepy, but Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd's sparkling chemistry sells the duo as best friends. The Back To The Future comics have taken a deeper dive into their partnership and explored how they first met. However, without Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd's performance, Marty and Doc's friendship loses what makes it special. Michael J Fox gives Marty an easy-going and laid-back demeanor that bounces off nicely from Christopher Lloyd's more erratic Doc Brown. It's hard to imagine that Marty was nearly played by Eric Stoltz, who it was said gave more of a serious depiction of Lorraine and George's son, which would not have worked nearly as well as Michael J Fox's interpretation.

Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd's dynamic expertly conveys a sense that these two people have a lot of history together. Their rapport has been built over a few years, with Doc having grown to trust Marty more than any other person. Although Back To The Future doesn't show their first meeting, and instead follows Doc and Marty during a period where they already know each other, Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd's onscreen partnership conveys a pair who have an unbreakable bond as friends. They care for each other, and will always be there to help when they need it. The actors' shared screen time makes it impossible to imagine Doc without Marty, or vice versa.

The Visual Effects Are Ahead Of Their Time

For a movie released in 1985, Back To The Future's visual effects are ahead of their time. The depiction of the DeLorean traveling backward through time is particularly impressive. It is shown leaving a fire trail behind, as it disappears in a flash of light and an explosion of smoke. The special effects were completed by industry giants Industrial Light And Magic, best known for Star Wars. They used a mix of CGI and practical effects, using real fire trails combined with CGI sparks and lightning added later by ILM to create the illusion of the car traveling through time. Equally stunning is the climax, when the DeLorean is hit by a lightning strike at the Hill Valley Clock Tower. For the lightning storm, Christopher Lloyd was fitted to a harness, despite his fear of heights, while Michael J Fox was shot inside the DeLorean Time Machine, with the lightning animated onto the shot by hand via Industrial Light And Magic's team of visual effects artists.