Review of Back to the Future Part II (1989) by Shelby W — 14 Feb 2013

Since I talked about Back to the Future part I, I suppose it's best to discuss II and III. While one was great, the sequels also hold up. They don't surpass it, but when it comes to sequels they're some of the best. The continue the great story, and deserve to be acknowledged.

Part II has Marty (Michael J. Fox) travelling forward to 2015. Here he encounters his son, but that's only a small part of the story. Marty gets a sports almanac which is stolen by an older Biff, and given to Biff in 1955. Thus, Marty needs to get it back. He travels to an alternate 1985, where Biff is basically king after betting everything he had in sports. Marty's mom (Lea Thompson) is his "servant" and George McFly (Previously played by Crispin Glover) is dead.

Marty goes back to 55' in order to get the book back so that the future can be restored. The strong point, again, are the characters. The best thing about II is that we see them as older people, younger people, and their families. The writing is just as clever as in part I, and is complex but not confusing.

The acting also again is great. J. Fox seems to get more comfortable with this character with each film. Lloyd is also great as Doc. However, Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) steals the show. In this one, Biff is the main villain, and we see lots of him! We see him old, young, nice, mean, and all kinds of other ways.

I also love the future technology. There's a Jaws 10, lace up shoes, and hover boards. There's also this pizza maker thing, that was a bit weird. Oh, and before I forget, there's Flea as Needles.

I wouldn't compare this to the first film, because the first is perfect, but it is still a fantastic film. There's some dopey makeup, but it doesn't fully deteriorate from the film. If you haven't seen it I would see it, but I still prefer the first. See it if you haven't!