बैक टू द फ़्यूचर: पार्ट II

Continuing a movie as perfect as "Back To The Future" must have been a really tough job. What made it even harder was that the writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale had to ignore an important character from part one. Because Crispin Glover asked for too much money, his character George McFly, Marty's wacky Dad, hardly appears in the sequels, which constricted the storyline a lot beforehand.

Still, "Back To The Future II" turned out to be a huge success, commercially and artistically. The movie is every bit as clever and delightful as part one. I think most viewers don't realize how extremely complex this story is, because it's so enjoyable to watch. Gale & Zemeckis wrote a screenplay that takes place in three different periods of time, changes storyline more than once, has characters interacting with themselves all the time, but never seems overdone or confusing. The most original trick the two Bobs pulled was to virtually return to part one and have the main character interfere with the original storyline. I don't think that has ever been done before or since.

No, the movie isn't flawless in a sense that everything can be explained logically. Bob Gale admitted himself that Marty and Doc shouldn't be able to visit their future selves in the first place. There are a lot of impossible time travels in part two (you can read about them in detail here: http://mjyoung.net/time/back2.html). "Mistakes" like that don't take away any of the fun, though, and I still think that the "Back To The Future" trilogy incorporates the logics of time traveling better than any other movie ever did.

Besides the perfect script the trilogy's success is due to Zemeckis ever so beautiful direction and his eye for detail, and of course the great cast. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson, all shamelessly underrated actors, are once again brilliant. It's a REAL pity that Crispin Glover didn't return for the sequels, but as I've said before, Gale & Zemeckis did a great job writing their way around his memorable character. The only other actress that didn't come back was Claudia Wells, who played Jennifer in part one and was appropriately replaced by Elisabeth Shue here.

Summing up, "Back To The Future II" is a more than worthy follow-up to one of the best movies of all time. In fact, I think it's the best sequel ever made, only rivaled by "Terminator 2: Judgement Day". But that's a different story...

'Back to the Future Part II' takes off where the first movie left. Pretty much the essence of the first one is present except this time Elisabeth Shue has been cast as Marty's girlfriend. Like the first movie, this one too is non-stop fun. The original plot once again, brilliantly revolves around the time-travelling paradox but this time the interference with the time-line has huger repercussions that are more complicated to solve. It's slightly a little more complex than the first movie but the energy and entertainment level is the same. I liked Zemeckis's version of 2015. It has that ultracool look and the futuristic gadgets and gizmos were quite amusing. The soundtrack is equally wild. The camera-work and special effects are very well done considering that the challenge was greater (e.g. showing two Michael J. Fox on the same screen). Okay, so showing the same actor share the screen with himself isn't anything new but in most movies/shows it looks poorly done which is not the case here. With most movies, the sequel tends to be a let down but 'Back to the Future Part II' is a great continuation of the first film.

When Back to The Future was initially conceived, director and writer Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale had no idea how much notoriety it would eventually achieve, nor of the big box office records it would break. They were happy just to see their project come to fruition. When they wrote the original film, the ending they had written was supposed to be the end of it. Because of it's success, however, and Hollywood being Hollywood, there had to be the inevitable sequels. The problem was that with the original ending, they had painted themselves into a corner as to where they could go with the sequel. What they finally came up with in Part II, is a film that is every bit as whimsical as the original, yet moves along at a pace that will leave you breathless.

For part II the cast is pretty much intact from the original film. The exceptions are Crispin Glover as George McFly has been replaced by Jeffrey Weisman and Claudia Wells has been replaced by Elizabeth Shue as Marty's girlfriend Jennifer. George McFly's role in the sequel is more talked about by other characters than his actual on screen time, and Jennifer's time on screen is quick and brief also (although she has one great scene that takes place in the future)so neither casting change is of any consequence.

The original film dealt with how Marty had threatened his own existence because of changes he had accidentally initiated in the year 1955. For Part II, we learn what happens when the interference is of a much larger scale and consequence. As you recall, the original film ended with Doc Brown(Christopher Lloyd)whisking Marty (Michael J. Fox)and Jennifer away with him to the year 2015 to straighten out their kids. For all his harping about messing with historical events, Doc is not above initiating a bit of interference himself. In their attempt to rescue Marty's future offspring, an aged but still obnoxious Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson), steals the Delorean to transport himself into the past and to bestow upon himself a Sports Almanac book that contains the results of sporting events for years to come. Shortly thereafter, Doc and Marty return to 1985, only to find that not only is Hill Valley not what it used to be, their own lives are in pretty sad shape and far different than what they had been before. And the changes aren't good ones, or as Doc puts it "I can't imagine Hell being much worse."

What makes the Back To The Future series so terrific, is that Zemeckis and Gale took the time travel concept, applied a little originality to it, then let their imaginations run wild. In BTTFII, we get a story that moves along like a runaway freight train. Not content to give us what the year 2015 may be truly like, since making such predictions are usually wrong anyway, they decide to let it all hang loose and just have fun with it. There are holographic theaters, Cafe 80's shops, antique stores that sell dustbusters and other things, skateboards that hover, paying for cab rides with thumbprints, etc. etc. Yet, for all the glossy, multi-colored stores and goofy concepts, we still recognize it as the same old Hill Valley. Something else Zemeckis and Gale do is to take some events from the first film, and replay them in 2015 Hill Valley. Usually, things like this would be seen as the lack of an idea, but in this case its simply Zemeckis having a little fun and letting us in on it. It works perfectly.

Likewise, the alternative version of 1985 Hill Valley is an exercise in how far one's imagination can go. Instead of a quaint peaceful town and suburbs, Zemeckis and Gale do everything in their power to give us the equivalent of an opposite. To go into too much detail here would undermine your own viewing experience and give away a bit too much of the plot.

Then to add fuel to the fire, we once again revisit Hill Valley in 1955, where things really go berserk what with two Marty's and two Docs inhabiting the same year. Zemeckis does a great job of cutting new scenes into footage from the original film with different angles and different perspectives of previous seen activities.

As for the cast, Fox and Lloyd keep their characters of Marty and Doc on the same entertaining level as before. Fox is also given the chore of playing his nerdy son of the future, Marty as a middle aged man and even his daughter of the future. He is pretty much successful except I do think playing his daughter was a bit much. Lea Thompson, again has the difficult chore of bringing Lorraine Mcfly to us in three different characterizations, and as before handles it admirably. Her 1955 Lorraine will always be her most memorable characterization in these films, but the others are equally well done. As for Thomas F. Wilson as Biff, Biff is biff, no matter how old, how young, or how powerful he may be, and his consistence of performance is also noteworthy.

Some have complained about being able to follow Zemeckis and Gale's storyline. If you have seen the first film, you'll have no trouble in that regard. I sure didn't, and for me it was one heck of a comedic thrill ride from beginning to end. If you don't have fun watching Back To The Part II, then the only thing I can think of is that your as much of a curmudgeon as old Biff from 2015. It's not often that a sequel can live up to it's predecessor, but when it does, and introduces some originality along the way you get my grade, which for Back To The Future is an A.

As a huge BTTF fan, I have to admit that this is the best BTTF flick ever made. It has all the ingredients to please all audience of any age. I personally like the 50's stuff in it, but I am also a huge 80's fan (the present in the movie) and the future is just hilarious. Of course...it has been almost two decades since this movie came out, and now we know that the future that is shown in BTTF 2 is a bit funny, but hey...do you remember Total Recall? Now THAT is also a future that would never see daylight, but at least the BTTF 2 future is amusing.

I have seen this movie over a dozen times, and I tried to find things that don't match, movie mistakes etc. (yes..I am a pain in the ..)but the thing is, I KNOW that there are mistakes (like reflections in window glass) but this movie keeps your mind drifting away, enchanted by the great story and great moments. Of course Spielberg never intended to have more ingredients then the past (50's), the present and the future. But almost 20 years later...it is also a (another) great movie to see what the 80's were all about. (so another great moment for people of my age, born in the late 70's)

I recommend this movie to ANYONE, but watch BTTF(the first movie) first, because you can't watch part 2 or 3 without watching it in the right sequence.

Have fun! (I recommend the trilogy box, you can purchase it anywhere)

BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART II (1985) *** Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson, Lea Thompson, Elisabeth Shue. First sequel (noteworthy: both pts. II & III were filmed simultaneously back-to-back) takes up where the first one left off: Fox and Lloyd heading to the year 2015 where Fox must help his family of the future (he plays three other characters of the McFly clan) battling arch-nemesis Biff who goes back to 1955 to alter history...again. Darker in tone and plot but still fun all the same with some mind-twisting plot lines and cool effects.