Back To The Future (1985, rewatch): This blast to the past holds up very well

Back To The Future, 1985, directed by Robert Zemeckis, Universal Studios 4K blu-ray (Back To The Future: The Ultimate Trilogy box set, 2020), 4.5 stars.

I hadn't seen this since its opening weekend 40 years ago. I am astonished at how well it held up to my critical and skeptical eye.

I enjoyed it this time around much more than I expected. I went into it with my intellectual, critical eye wide open. But, I'll be damned, it found its way straight into my heart within about five minutes.

I really did not expect that.

Four decades on, Back To The Future is still damn near a perfect movie. That anticlimactic, sequel-forward ending slipped it a notch off its perch. But until then, it was still a marvel.

I came out of this viewing with two big impressions:

1.) Christopher Lloyd was born to play Doc Brown. He was absolutely perfect. I can think of no one else who could have played that part.

2.) This movie was much funnier than I remembered. Most all the gags landed brilliantly -- and there were a lot of them. I have always vividly remembered the gag with Marty McFly at the 1955 school dance breaking out his Chuck Berry impression. I knew it was coming, but it was still really funny watching it play out.

It's not a cliche. I'm not afraid to say it: Back To The Future was and still is a great film. It's definitely of its time. It has the 1980s all over it. But it should -- it's specifically a film ABOUT the 1980s. In 2025, that makes it a fantastic period piece.

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