A commercial chameleon who directed a fair amount of famous and well-liked films, but failed to establish a signature style throughout his career. Even so it pays to dig through his vast oeuvre, if only to keep tabs on popular cinema.
Solid pieces
Forrest Gump
The inoffensive
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Surprisingly fun and apt comedy that smartly parodizes Beatles-mania, without being too snarky. The performances are great, there are some solid gags and the pacing never slows down. It's not a masterpiece, far from it, but it's definitely one of Zemeckis' better films and a remarkably upbeat 70s flick. Good fun, even if you don't particularly like the Beatles.
A Christmas Carol
Beowulf
Worthy but flawed
Allied
A romantic espionage thriller set during WWII. While Zemeckis tries his best to turn it into a classy affair, he isn't quite the man for the job. While there's very little wrong with this film, it still ends up rather plain and forgettable. It's all so predicable and safe that you start to wonder why they even bothered with this one.
Flight
A film that starts with a lot of action, but quickly settles down to become an addication drama with a little courtroom thrown in for good measure. Washington and Reilly do good work, but Zemeckis isn't subtle enough to make a drama like this really stand out. Borderline acceptable.
The Polar Express
Back to the Future
Dubious filler
Romancing the Stone
Plain forgettable
The Walk
Cast Away
What Lies Beneath
Big nopes
Back to the Future Part III
Back to the Future Part II
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Irritation overload
