Back to the Future vs The Goonies: Which is Better?

I do want to preface this by saying Sam and I are fans of both movies. It's not that we think one is great, while the other is awful. We just strongly disagree over which one is better. I say Back to the Future, while Sam, on the other hand, is wrong.

Brodie on Back to the Future:

The script is one of the most intricately constructed scripts I've encountered in all the movies I have ever seen. There is so much to unpack in each and every scene and sequence, and it only gets deeper and and more layered as the franchise progresses. But the first film is so exquisitely done. The performances are fantastic from Christopher Lloyd's wild and crazy Doc Brown, to Michael J. Fox's generally chill but super confused Marty. Tom Wilson as Bif Tannen is a perfect bully, Leah Thompson and Crispin Glover as Lorraine and George are superb in what is essentially dual roles for each of them. Alan Silvestri's score is iconic, Huey Lewis & The News' Power of Love is fantastic. It's fun, it's smart, it's heartfelt, it's quite simply a perfect film and it's certainly in my top 10 of all time. So of course it's my favorite of 1985.

Sam on The Goonies:

Why is The Goonies the best movie made in 1985?
1. Adventure – you have kids looking for a pirate ship and treasure to save their homes. There are traps around every corner and villains after them…HELLO!!!!
2. One Eyed Willy…I mean c’mon that’s a great name for a Pirate
3. We got a new dance craze the Truffle Shuffle (don’t lie you know you did it)
4. The Cast – Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman, ever heard of Sean Astin (RUDY HIMSELF)
5. The movie is filled with memorable Quotes “Sloth love Chunk” “First you gotta do the Truffle Shuffle” "HEY YOU GUYS”
6. Cyndi Lauper is all over the soundtrack

The Goonies was really about everyday normal kids on an adventure of a lifetime, who doesn’t love a movie about that!

Again, this isn't a situation of "One's good, one's bad," as we both like both films. And 1985 had it's fair share of great films, both classic and cult favourites. Breakfast Club, Commando, Clue, Weird Science, St. Elmo's Fire, Rocky IV, Better Off Dead, Ran, Real Genius, Prizzi's Honor, Witness, The Color Purple, Out of Africa, and many more.

So we've each made our case for Back to the Future vs The Goonies. We'll let you decide which one is the more iconic film.