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The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

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Back to the Future (1985)

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Back in Time

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Back to the Future on DVD.

I love a good time travel movie, and I was thrilled to see that this slick comedy trilogy still holds up. The first film is an unqualified success, boasting an incredibly sharp screenplay and tons of appeal. The second film went even further, having fun with the scientific end of time-travel. It turned off most viewers, but fascinated me. The third film is a triumphant combination of comedy, science fiction, romance and the Western. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd play Marty McFly and Doc Emmett Brown, the two time-hoppers with a maximum of chemistry, and Mary Steenburgen charms as Lloyd's love interest in Part III. Universal's new three-disc set comes with plenty of documentaries, deleted scenes, and a few funny outtakes. Elisabeth Shue replaced Claudia Wells as Marty's girlfriend for Parts 2-3. Crispin Glover is great as Marty's dad. Flea, Elijah Wood and Jason Scott Lee can be glimpsed in smaller parts. Steven Spielberg executive produced all three films.

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson, Claudia Wells, Billy Zane
Written by: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
MPAA Rating: PG
Running Time: 111 minutes
Date: December 5, 2002