Though Zemeckis has often been pigeonholed as a director interested only in special effects, his work has been defended by several critics including David Thomson, who wrote that "No other contemporary director has used special effects to more dramatic and narrative purpose."
Iako je često bio etiketiran kao redatelj kojeg samo zanimaju specijalni efekti, njegov rad su branili mnogi kritičari, uključujući Davida Thomsona, koji je napisao da "Nijedan drugi redatelj nije rabio specijalne efekte u dramatske i narativne svrhe."