Back to the Future Part II

As I mentioned in my review of the original Back to the Future, this is a trilogy that has mostly/partially escaped me through TV viewings. My timeline of the happenings in this American classic trilogy was off and I couldn't really identify which scenes belonged to which movie. 

Some time off from work + the threat of Netflix removing the films on August 1st meant that I buckled down and "marathoned" all three over the course of two days. 

As I watched Back to the Future Part II, I realized that most of my favorite scenes from the trilogy that I had seen were from this sequel. After posting my review on the first film, I garnered various reactions from fans of the series (as one often does if they don't give a classic a perfect score!) but found that most people were interested in my view of the trilogy as a whole and the other two films individually. Unknown to me, it seems there's a divide in the "BttF" community around the quality of Part II and Part III. 

My review for Part III will come later, but I'll put my answer first here: I think Part II is the best of the trilogy, slightly beating out the original. It has more going on, the stakes are higher, the time travel is more adventurous, and it feels like one of those sequels that got better in most every way. 

On the whole, I found it to make the first film - not necessarily better - but more important to the entire "space time continuum" as we learn that the semi-boring 50s time period actually plays a consistently important role in the fabric of the universe! The drama and stakes here are also much higher (and darker) with a mistake by Marty causing a catastrophic alternate reality. Sure, it's a bit annoying that such a dumb mistake drives the plot of most of the film, but I was much more eager to see how they'd fix Biff becoming a ultra rich borderline dictator than Marty trying to get his dad set up with his mom. Of course, all of this requires them to go back to the 50s with a decent amount of ground to retread from the first film. The attempt at nostalgia for the first film is obvious and I imagine that back in the day, this is what frustrated people the most. I can see why, but I actually appreciated the "new" 50s scenes as it politely pokes fun at the original while giving you some entertaining alternate views of that plot. 

"Huh! Atlanta blows that big of a lead in the Super Bowl?"
[Yes I know that's post 2000, couldn't resist the roast]

Still waiting on this technology.
2020 hoverboards are crap!

Before that, we're treated to a wonderfully zany time in the future that we've now since passed in real time (and have almost none of the cool gadgets to show for it!). It's here where I have the most fun in this film as the hoverboard chase, extra-crazy Biff, and future technology is all a combined hoot. It may be short-lived, but it's entertaining in the most Spielberg of ways and shows the film continuing to be more inventive after having so many iconic moments in the original. The rest of the film spends time split between the 50s (with a heist-esque atmosphere) and a terrifying 80s that has Biff as a powerful maniac. 

Biff and the emergence of a far more menacing core villain is one of the areas that Part II succeeds the most over its successor. In the first film he's an entertaining bully and nuisance, but in this second film he genuinely becomes a crazed villain. Sure, he was created as a product of the true villain of time travel, but he's more of a threat this time around which adds to the aforementioned stakes. His treatment of Marty's mom (and just everyone in general) is shocking and his "future son" is so psychotic, you half expect there to be a Mad Max crossover coming in the very next scene. When you couple this with the still-iconic performances of Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, it creates a really well rounded cast of good vs. evil and makes the whole thing feel that much more epic. Both of them continue to be irreplaceable in their roles with MJF having that cool factor, despite his character's small stature and Lloyd having the fatherly, but still zany presence of the Doc. 

Even 30+ years later this still just screams "cool"

Despite a cliffhanger ending (that I'm sure was frustrating having to wait a year to find out the answer but is less so when you can queue up the next film) and some slight retread of the previous film, Back to the Future Part II represents my personal high mark of the trilogy. It almost acts like a fulfilled promise with trips to the future, alternate reality, and back to the past. It all plays like a wild Saturday morning cartoon in the best of ways and builds upon the original while upping the stakes - the mark of any good sequel. 

CONS

• Retreads some old ground from the original
• Exciting, but huge cliffhanger ending
• Subtly annoying that everything "happens" because of the sports almanac (but also kind of iconic)
• WHY DO WE HAVE NONE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY?!

PROS

• Plot is higher stakes and darker this time around
• Has more fun and adventure with the time travelling. The time spent in the future is particularly fun
• Continues to create iconic imagery that still is relevant today. The self-lacing Nike's, hoverboard, flying Delorean, etc.
• Memorable original score
• Great special effects for the time
• Biff emerges as a more evil villain and Thomas Wilson's performance is wild
• Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are irreplaceable again as Marty and Doc
• Consistently on the move, this one is entertaining from start to finish and feels like a live action cartoon in the best of ways

Retro Rath's Review Score | 9/10