When it comes to inspirational filmmakers, there's no denying that Academy Award-winner Robert Zemeckis is someone that wouldn't appear on the list. He has been in the business since the 1970s and has given us nothing but creative, engaging pieces of cinema. My personal favorite work of his is a toss between Back to the Future and Cast Away, as those are his best, in my opinion. The beautiful thing about the man is that he has shown how versatile of a filmmaker he can be and not just do the feel-good films, because his career has taken an interesting turn over the last few years. In 2009, after directing the Jim Carrey-starring adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Zemeckis took a three-year hiatus from Hollywood. He had spent five years doing performance-capture works including The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol.

It was a big moment for cinephiles when it was announced he would be returning to the world of live-action by helming the drama Flight, which has to been seen if you haven't already. Ever since then, I've come to fruition by seeing that modern Zemeckis is better than classic Zemeckis. Now, hold your horses and let me explain why I think that. As much as I love his work before the 2010s, each film he has made since 2012 has been different in terms of tone and execution. I really wanted to write this article as his latest film, Allied, comes to theaters this weekend.

Flight was something I never expected Zemeckis to direct. He has done films with elements of drama, like Forrest Gump and Cast Away. But what was so different about Flight was that there wasn't any light at all. This was also his first R-rated film since 1980's Used Cars. This was probably a delight for those who grew a fatigue towards his family-friendly works of the last decade. You are sitting in your seat hoping that Denzel Washington's Whip Whitaker would sober up and when you think he does, he goes back to being the alcoholic. It's a heartbreaking story that feels real, not just due to Washington's Oscar-nominated performance, but also to Zemeckis' beautiful and gripping direction. His direction received critical acclaim, as some reviewers felt he was overlooked of a Best Director nomination.

Three years after the drama centering on an alcoholic pilot was released, we got something much more light-hearted and simple, called The Walk. This was based on the true story of Philippe Petit (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the French high-wire artist who gained fame for a high-wire walk he performed across the Twin Towers in 1974. This is a CGI-heavy film, but it's so unnoticeable, which something Zemeckis is no stranger to visual effect heavy films. This was one of last year's most underrated films as I really enjoyed it and it was one of my favorite theater experiences when I saw it in beautiful IMAX 3D, where it made me feel like I was with Petit as he was prepping for his journey to accomplish his dream. The film took the magic we would see in his earlier films and brought it back for this one! Zemeckis was with this project since 2004, telling Deadline that to him, "it had everything that you want in a movie. It had an interesting character who’s driven, and obsessed, and passionate. It had all this caper stuff. He was an outlaw. There was suspense. And then he did this death-defying thing."

I've always loved Zemeckis since I was a little kid after first seeing the Back to the Future films and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. But, when I realized I wanted to be a filmmaker and he started making films like Flight, The Walk and Allied, my image of him started to change. It's always great when a filmmaker steps out of their shoes to do something, like when Steven Spielberg did Catch Me if You Can or when Martin Scorsese did Hugo. I adore when they step out of their formulaic genres and do something completely. But there's something about the way Zemeckis crafts his films and makes them possibly better than his early work, while I still find Back to the Future and Cast Away as the best films he has made.

I hope to see him venture into different genres for the next few years, as I'm not entirely sure what his next project will be after Allied. I would like to see him do a Western, especially since we've had a strong resurgence with them. Also, I'm curious to see him work with other talented actors because when he added Washington, Gordon-Levitt, Pitt and Cotillard to the list of actors he directed, I knew that we were in for a special part of his career. Robert Zemeckis will always have a special place in heart and I know for a fact that he will keep pumping out memorable films for everyone to enjoy!