I’m a little conflicted. This movie is loaded with clichés. I generally don’t like it when a film is very cliché, but this movie is different. First of all, it’s from the early ’80s, so many of these things that seem cliche today may have been totally original at the time. Secondly, the fact that the movie is cliché does not mean it’s boring – it’s actually very exciting.
I’m not a fan of action for action’s sake, but the action in this film works well. I’m very impressed by the way that what would traditionally be considered a “man’s action flick” that makes up one part of the story and the “chick flick” that makes the rest of it are integrated excellently to make a rounded film that anyone can enjoy. It’s a very ’80s movie with a fun adventure, good performances, interesting twists, enjoyable romance, and one heck of a theme song. It’s no surprise that this team-up of director Robert Zemeckis and composer Alan Silvestri soon led to Back to the Future, but let’s not let the magnificence of the BttF franchise overshadow the delightful movie that launched Zemeckis in the beginning.
