Your Future Hasn't Been Written Yet
-----------A Review on Back to the Future
Good movies do not necessarily have to be the latest ones; this is what most movie fans agree with. I am not saying I am a movie connoisseur, but it's true I
am rather particular about what I watch. Of all the Hollywood movies I've seen I
'd classify 80% of them as junk, and 10% of the rest 20% can be ranked as my favorites, most of which turn out to be fairly old works. What I am going to review
on shortly is just one of them.
As I said in my previous movie review, the idea of going back into the past or
flying into the future is indeed exciting. Hollywood never fails to cash in by
producing movies based on that notion, and Back To The Future series is one of such box-office hits. The first episode of the trilogy was actually made as early
as in 1985, so you can be sure its special effects won't amaze you much. Well,
computer-made visual effects may be crucial, it's certainly not what truly makes
a movie great. If this element of an entire movie, I mean computer made effects
, is given the top priority over other elements such as the storyline, music, performance, logic, etc., it's when you have another piece of junk.
Despite the same conception they are based on, the main tone of this old trilogy is rather light and comedic, a lot different than the heavy, suffocating atmosphere you feel in The Butterfly Effects. The story isn't as much complicated, and the music is a lot more pleasant in Back To The Future. The performance of one of the two heroes is sort of exaggerated, but it's still well acceptable. The
first and third stories are about going back into the past and the second into the future, and the filmmakers seem to try very hard to convince the audience of
the importance of keeping what they call the time-space continuum intact. That is, even if you could go back into the past with the experience of being a modern
human, you should not try to take advantage of what you already know; and nor should you bring along anything that doesn't belong to the right age. I am convinced there is some truth in this doctrine, though the idea of getting rich by unfair means also sounds alluring to me.
If the second episode seems somewhat far-fetched to some -- it still has some
wonderful imaginary scenes -- it's the third episode of the science fiction that
gives me the passion to make this recommendation. Not only is the music more contagious, and are the special effects more convincing, it has a more compact, engrossing storyline than its predecessors. Also, the last part of the trilogy succeeds in showing its audience a real, well, at least to me, 1885 America landscape with Indians, all its bars, cowboys, duels, and parties. And think about having them along with a most cutting-edge time machine. These alone might suggest a
fantastic movie, but what I like best about this movie is the romantic story between the maddish scientist and the elegant young lady who happens to be fond of
science. There is once some misunderstanding between the two, as always, but they are so much in love they would do anything to stay together; either the lady
goes into the age of 1985 or the scientist stays in 1885. That means, either way
either of them has to sacrifice his/her original life. I was greatly touched when the movie went to the part of the charming girl deciding to catch up with train by which the man is leaving, regardless of all the risks.
The movie could have had better aftertastes if they gave up the "everything's
perfect" ending of the movie, letting the two lovers stay in the old times. The
reappearance of the scientist and his wife and children may make it a perfect ending, it to some extent only serves to be a real fifth wheel. There's more to it
than all the above. The real punch line about the movie is also at the concluding part when the scientist says, man, your future hasn't been written yet; you can make it whatever you would like it to be. How true!
Recommended!
Panpanpan.
