MUBI

A film that pivots so heavily on futurism would normally age badly, souring into a spectacle of disappointment as the themes are rehashed and the visual effects become dated. Back to the Future does the opposite. It is all the time becoming more valuable as an iconic, gloriously retro, everlasting pop culture contingency. What survives it is cleverness and detail, thoroughly exploited in the writing and directing. Having the time travel concept morphed into a comic adventure and the paradox theory used plot-point of incestual hilarity is original on an inspirational level. It’s all so precise and assuredly made that it’s become a how-to of adventure comedy. And with a perfectly cast ensemble of colorful characters, this definitive classic is a consistently satisfying experience. Now if only we can pull Zemeckis out of this motion capture limbo that has consumed him for the past decade…