Review of Back to the Future Part II (1989) by Tim S — 21 May 2012

For years I've sort of been torn over which sequel, if any, in the Back to the Future franchise was my favorite. While I still don't really have a concrete answer or a reason why, I think I lean a bit more toward Back to the Future Part II.

When originally written, the first part of the movie was set to take place in the future, the second part was to take place in the 1960's and the third part was to take place in 1885. It was a very long script that the filmmakers decided to divide up into two films.

Personally, I think that the third film could have used a bit of a re-write, but I'll save those comments for when I review that movie. I like Part II a lot because of how energetic it genuinely feels.

The movie is all over the place and has a very strong narrative structure that works well. It does lack in some of the performances and the mechanics of the story don't feel as genuine or as a strong as the original movie, but it's still fun and well-made with enthusiasm.

Nothing can top the first movie, but this is a very fine sequel that should have had a fantastic follow-up and finale. That's not really the case, but I'll get more into that with Back to the Future Part III.