(Credit: Netflix)

Back in the 1980s, Hollywood could sell you anything if it was something with a big idea and lots and lots of emotions. Time travel? Sure. Teenagers saving the day? Even better. And if that reminds you of Back to the Future, then you are spot on.

But if you think it was just another film from that decade, then you might be wrong. Back to the Future defined what people now think the 80s looked and felt like. Every bright poster and every story about a kid outsmarting the grown-ups leads back to Marty McFly and his DeLorean.

Watching it on Netflix today feels like more than nostalgia. But it will be nostalgic for you if you grew up in the 80s and watched it in the theatres. For those who watched it on DVDs as kids or the latter generation who watched it on Netflix, it is a way to imagine the ’80s.

You can almost hear the confidence of an era that thought tomorrow could be improved with a little science. It is not nostalgia that makes the film special; it is the way it captures how the 80s saw itself. You see, the ’80s were fast. They were inventive and a little too restless to stay in one decade for long.

The plot of the films was simple, though: a teenager accidentally travels from 1985 to 1955, disrupts his parents’ love story, and races to fix the past before it ruins his future. But that is just the scaffolding. What keeps Back to the Future alive even now is the way it moves. There is discovery and invention? Sure. Does it have panic? Full of it. Is it fun? You bet.

What makes Back to the Future the best 1980s movie?

What makes it the best is how perfectly it represents what that decade loved most: hope, spectacle and innovation. The ’80s were loud and proud about their love for the future, but their stories still belonged to small towns and ordinary kids who were out there looking for only one thing – adventure.

Marty McFly may travel through time, but his problems are pretty ordinary. All he wanted was a happy family and some confidence. Even the time machine looks like it could have been built in someone’s garage after a few failed attempts, which might be the most ’80s thing about it. Hence, the relatability.

Watching it today on Netflix, you notice how tightly it’s made without feeling like it’s trying to impress you. Not a single scene drags, yet it never feels rushed. The humour spills naturally from the panic. The gadgets look handmade. The friendships feel genuine. And after all that, you have the key element: optimism, the idea that you could mess up, fix it, and still make it to the dance on time.

And if we talk about the picturisation, the frame glows with that 80s warmth. It was never just about the neon lights or the hairstyles, but that wide-eyed belief that the world was opening up for anyone with an idea. Back to the Future does not just remind you of the 80s; it teaches you what the decade was trying to be.

So while plenty of ’80s hits exist on Netflix, Back to the Future remains the purest form of it. It is not just nostalgia. It is proof that once upon a time, movies believed in tomorrow.