Back to the Future day

GREAT SCOTT!! (sorry I just couldn't help myself)

I know this is a day late, but I just had to write an article in regards to the Back to the Future trilogy (easily one of the greatest trilogies ever released). They are particular favourites of mine, and are really the epitome of the 80's film. For those who don't know (shame on you)... yesterday was October 21st 2015, which was the date of the future that Michael J Fox's Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd's Dr. Emmet Brown, travelled to in Back to the Future Part 2.

OK so, lets get the predictions part out of the way. Firstly, the wrong ones (because the ones Zemeckis got right are actually quite frequent and pretty damn interesting). Firstly, as much as we all loved the sequels, there is no Jaws 19. Although, Universal studios did release a really funny fake trailer for Jaws 19, where all of the sequels are given a very short summary (and yet no mention of Peter Griffin's Bigger Jaws). Next, we don't have flying cars technically, especially not for any sort of commercial use. Furthermore, we don't have self drying clothes (though that would be great, and with items such as water repellant spray, doesn't necessarily seem all to far off), I have no idea what the hell Holomax flimsier but I wanna watch one (although the last Jaws film to be released in 3D wasn't exactly any good). Obviously, we have no time machines, and we can't exactly hydrate food (especially not in the way seen in the film, though Mrs McFly sure can hydrate a pizza).

Now for the things the film actually got kinda right, or at least close. Firstly, and most importantly, we do technically have hover-boards, with Lexus having released theirs in the last few months, though to my knowledge none have yet been released for any form of commercial use, though they probably won't run on water (so BTTF2 definitely got that right). Also, though Holomax doesn't exist in the now present, actually it's the past.... Damn, seems just like it was yesterday (but I digress).... We do have things such as IMax 3D films, as well as the invention of holograms, so it's just for those two technologies to merge, which seems likely to probably happen in the next decade or so. Furthermore, the inclusion of video calling and wearable tech seems all to real, with modern items and applications such as Skype being one of the most popular forms of social media and Google Glass being released to the public before everyone who was wearing one realising how dumb they looked and stacking it on a shelf.

I do love the Back to the Future films, all three of them, but, and I know I will get a lot of shit for this, but I actually think that BTTF2 is probably the weakest of the trilogy. Whilst I do love the scenes in the 50's, especially towards the end of the film, where we see Marty see himself from the 80's in the 50's before being chased through the dance by Biff's goon's (whose names I cannot remember nor see them important enough to research). That said, I find the scenes in the future to be a little too over the top at times, and Biff's grandson, Griff, to be extremely annoying, as well as Marty McFly Jr.

I personally think that the original and first film is easily the best of the franchise, despite the fact that all three films actually work on the same formula. Marty McFly must travel with the Doc to a different time period to stop an uncertain future, defeating the bully along the way and fixing a problem  within his family. On that note, I actually really like the idea that the descendants of each of the characters (both future generations and past ones) are played by the same characters. This seems a little ridiculous in Back to the Future Part 3, but at least keeps consistency in the cast. Furthermore, I've always enjoyed the episodic nature of the films, with each film seamlessly taking place exactly after the previous one.

Granted, the films make very little sense, when you look at it, especially considering the different paradoxes that come into play throughout the films, but nevertheless... THEY'RE GOOD FILMS. I cannot stress this point enough. I see no point in people being so pedantic about the "rules of time travel". There are no rules, due to the fact that there's no tangible ability to travel in time, so there is no point in developing any rules or eve guidelines until the day I see a crazed doctor turn up on my front yard in a Delorean telling me my kids are in trouble.