Written by Robert Zemeckis And Bob Gale
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Doc: "Don't talk to anyone, don't touch anything, don't do anything, don't interact with anyone, and try not to look at anything."
How do you follow up one of the most iconic movies all time, sequel wise? Well, you retain what worked about the movie in question and then you push things into another direction.
The first movie explored the possibility of Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) not existing had George (Jeffrey Weissman) and Lorraine (Lea Thompson) never got together. This movie explored a much worse conundrum. What happened if they fell apart? This was something that Marty and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) would find out.
Yup, what if things in 1985 has resulted in a dead George and Lorraine in a relationship with Biff Tannen (Thomas F Wilson). It's a relationship where Biff was abusive to Lorraine and her children but especially with Marty. Yes, it's because Biff became aware of time travel and decided to change his own fate, which making the McFly family's much worse as a result. All because of a discarded almanac.
This was also a movie where Jennifer Parker (Elisabeth Shue) got to see her own future with Marty. This involved children named Marty Jr and Marlene (both played by Michael J. Fox) with Marty, which also trying to stay out of sight. At least Jennifer had something to do in this one.
Speaking of future kids, Marty Jr wasn't exactly the sharpest either. His whole plot was getting framed for a crime that Biff's grandson, Griff (Thomas F. Wilson) had committed but that was resolved fast enough in lieu of the dystopian version of 1985 that made up the best bit of the movie.
I think the future scenes were fine and had their moments before Jennifer thought they were just a dream. The dystopian 1985 plot just worked better, further solidifying Biff as a proper threat. Biff's proper nasty when he he had any semblance of power and once again, it was gratifying to watch him get his just desserts.
- Both Claudia Wells and Crispin Glover were replaced in this movie, though the latter would return for the third movie. Marty also got to use a hoverboard.
- The movie ended with Doc being revealed to being alive in 1885, nicely setting up the final part of this trilogy.
- Standout music: Michael Jackson's Beat It.
- Chronology: October 26th 1985, a dystopian version of 1985, 1955 again and 2015 in Hill Valley, California.
Back To The Future Part II certainly upped the stakes and I do think it's mostly worked as a sequel. It definitely had fun raising the stakes for Marty and Doc, gave the recast Jennifer a bit more to do and continued to prove how horrible Biff and his bloodline are.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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