Today is October 22nd, one day after Doc and Marty travelled to the Future in Part II officially making that movie a movie about the past. That really blows my mind, for so long the future we saw in that movie was always ahead of us. It may not mirror what we live in now but it was still the future. But now it is not the future, it is the past and moving past it means we have to look behind. I really think that kind of sums up why these movies are universally beloved by multiple generations continuing to grow, they were always about looking forward. About hope. They activated the part of our sub-conscience filled with child-like wonder about adventure and it continues to grow every time you watch. I think that’s why it is impossible to get sick of these movies, we rarely have that part of us activated in real day to day life so we cherish the things that do. And the characters accomplish things we all are working to accomplish, through their adventures they were able to fix what was broken in their lives and set up a good path for the rest of it. That taps into something that is in all of our hearts, we all want to fix what is broken.
Is there anything more adventurous than time travel? Being able to witness literally any event throughout history or even your own life with your own eyes is an extraordinary thing. They made it seem cool with the Delorean but most importantly real with all the gadgets like time circuits and the flux capacitor, each with their own explanation of how it works cementing the “reality” of it. That is very important in a movie like this in order to have the audience suspend their disbelief and buy into the story 100%. It was just a perfect storm of making the right decisions; 88mph, the fire streaks left behind, the flying car, the Delorean train, etc.… I could go on and on they just crushed the details which are crucial to being able to sell the story. If people aren’t thinking about what is missing or doesn’t make sense, they are free to buy into the story. And man did we ever.
The first movie gets you invested into the characters right from the start by going through the time machine explanation and then having Doc gunned down by the Libyans. Really intense moment that kick starts the movie into a high gear it never comes down from in all 3 movies. I love that they really hammer home how fragile maintaining the proper existence is when playing with time travel, if you are careless you could unravel everything you know about the world including your presence in it. Raises the stakes for the characters and draws you into every move they make throughout the movie because you know the littlest thing could cause the biggest of disasters. Having Marty interfere with his parents meeting inadvertently attracting his mother is comedic and storyline gold. The way he is able to get things back on track is so great and fun to watch, especially the climax, 1 of the greatest rise of the underdog moments when George finally KO’s Biff and saves the girl. They still need to kiss but not before they tease us one last time building up to 1 of the greatest kisses in history, everything about it was perfect with the build-up and the music, perfect moment. Of course we can’t forget the epic moment of Marty crushing Johnny B Goode as if it was his own song, a personal favourite moment. And then he taps into a part of our hearts we all desire, fixing what was broken with your family and living happily ever after.
But happily ever after will have to wait as more adventures await, Doc and Marty heading into the future in a flying Delorean. That’s like pouring gas on the fire of our imaginations, flying and time travel? Doesn’t get much cooler than that. The glimpse of the future they gave us was magical; flying cars and hover boards turned us all into little kids at the toy store, I want I want I want! Haha and then once again hammering home how important it is to be extremely cautious in the future by having Biff steal the time machine to give himself the sports almanac almost completely destroying their original reality. In a way the alternate reality of Hell Valley run by Biff also taps into apart of us that wants to be rich and powerful. I’m sure most of us wouldn’t be as scummy but still, having the results of any sports event allowing you to make endless amounts of money is almost every guys dream haha and once again the details in all of the changes to the different timeline helps hammer home the reality and let the audience buy into the story. Almost flawless. And the adventure it creates by having to go back to 1955 and get the almanac allows the audience to go back to the 1st movie we beloved so much within the second movie we also love, the best of both worlds. I am so impressed that they were able to make all this come together in 3 movies so flawlessly, I guarantee they didn’t know the impact of what they were doing but they deserve all the admiration that comes with these movies.
Of course they had to leave us hanging one more time as Doc heads back to the Old West on a bolt of lightning leaving Marty stuck in 1955. I know the 3rd movie is slightly less beloved than the 1st 2 but I feel it is on par with them. I love the interactions they go through plus having to adapt 1885 technology to get the Delorean up to 88mph and back to the real 1985 is awesome. They have to fight to change the fates of both Doc and Clint…er Marty and overcome the Tannen family one last time, I love Thomas Wilson’s performance as Mad Dog. For me it’s a fitting, fun end to the one of the greatest trilogies of all time. Marty finally overcomes his weakness of reacting to people calling him chicken saving him from the accident that ruins his life and Doc gets to say goodbye in the awesome Train time machine, leaving a small window for our imaginations to continue the story. A perfect end imo.
I just learned of an interesting fact about these movies, Crispin Glover was not in the 2nd movie. I always thought he was and the story just dictated his role would be smaller than the 1st but it was another actor in prosthetics. Pretty crazy and after knowing that and watching the movie, I could see where they tried to hide the character. Too bad, I loved Crispin’s portrayal of George. In an interview he talked about an issue he had with the 1st movies ending, that the characters receiving a monetary reward sent a message that money/possessions = happiness and he felt everything should be the same except the characters should be happy and in love. Essentially that Love was the reward. That is a very interesting and intriguing perspective, one that I had never thought about before. I definitely see his point but I feel the movie avoided that message but it was a very close call. It is true that when Marty gets back to 1985 in the 1st movie, the house is cleaner, nicer, his siblings are in nice clothes talking about good jobs looking happy and then his parents come in from playing Tennis completely in love. On the surface they are definitely very close to sending that message but I feel a few details save it. First, they still live in the same house so it’s not like they are all of a sudden rich living in a mansion. The items in the house are nicer than what was there before but nothing too crazy. When Marty mentions the car being wrecked everyone reacts like it’s a big deal making it seem like they all still share it. Nobody mentions Marty’s truck either so to me I always saw that as a gift from time, not something that he had because they were now rich. So taking all that into account, I feel that the end is more about seeing that what was broken is now fixed as opposed to everything is ok now because they have money. In the beginning, his siblings seemingly don’t have good jobs or many friends but in the end they have good jobs and friends. In the beginning, his parents are not confident, look unhappy and don’t have much of a relationship. In the end they walk in happy as can be after spending some time having fun together, his father brimming with confidence. In the beginning, the house is kind of run down and dirty, older décor. In the end, it’s clean with some nicer furniture but it’s still the same house. So for me it isn’t about money = happiness, it’s about seeing what was broken become whole again. In the beginning their family seemed broken and in the end they seem whole. It isn’t about money, it’s about bringing the best out of people. If they had a different house or clearly didn’t care about money because they had so much now it would have changed everything but I feel since it was the same house and just the people had changed, it sends a message that it isn’t about what you have, it’s about who you are. If you are able to bring out the best of yourself you can experience significant positive change without changing the foundations of your life, home. They are still the McFly family, just in the end they are the best version of themselves.
Change. Hope. Love. Adventure. Imagination. Some of the greatest things in life and that’s what Back to the Future is all about and that’s why we all love it so much. I truly believe that the reason these movies are so and will continue to be universally beloved is because they tap into the best parts of us. Who among us doesn’t want to fix something on our timeline to achieve a better life for ourselves and our families. Who wouldn’t want to go on a time travel adventure to see any of the wonders of our world? We all dreamed of cruising on our hover boards or knockin out the scumbag and kissing your queen. These movies will remain timeless because we never lose the things these movies tap into, even as old men and women Back to the Future will ignite that youthful fire for change, hope, love, adventure and imagination.
As we head off into the future where Oct 21, 2015 is in our rear view mirror, I am so grateful for the journey the cast and crew of Back to the Future brought us on. I send as much love and thanks as I can to them all, got a special place in the ol ticker for all of them. I feel like a chapter of childhood has closed, no longer are we looking forward to the future presented in the movie, we now have the responsibility to create it. As we build the future we can take the lessons from Back to the Future and try to do what Marty did, change the circumstances of life without changing the foundation. We can build a world that taps into change, hope, love, adventure, imagination just like the movies did for us. As I end this piece, I’d like to use the immortal words of Doc Emmitt Brown:
“It means your future hasn’t been written yet. No one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one.”
