FUTURE TENSE AND PAST IMPERFECT
If you thought the first movie was a headache, grab some aspirin and sit down. This “sequel” (a word Hollywood uses to describe “give us your money again for the same thing”) is called Back to the Future Part II. I went to the cinema hoping for a nice story, and instead, I felt like I was being shaken inside a kaleidoscope by a caffeine-addicted teenager. Apparently, the year 2015 is going to be filled with flying cars, hoverboards, dehydrated pizzas, and kids wearing their pockets inside out. OK sure we’ll just go with that..
The film picks up exactly where the last one left off, with that wild-eyed Doc Brown dragging Marty and his girlfriend Jennifer into a DeLorean to save their kids. Because, of course, Marty’s future offspring are just as incompetent as he is. It’s a dizzying mess of timelines, alternate realities, and Michael J. Fox playing every single member of his family. I don’t know who decided that putting a wig on a grown man and calling him a “teenage girl” was good cinema, but they should be banned from the studio lot.
Review by Ben Dover
Let’s talk about the “Future.” It’s 2015, and the movie predicts we’ll have movies about holographic sharks and jackets that dry themselves. Meanwhile, in the real world, I can barely get a decent signal on my cell phone. The first half of this movie is an assault on the senses. It’s loud, it’s colorful, and it’s filled with gadgets that would break within five minutes in the hands of an actual human being. Marty tries to buy a sports almanac to cheat his way to riches (finally, a relatable motivation) but Doc Brown gets all high and mighty about “sanctity of the timeline.” Give me a break, Doc; you’re the one who built a nuclear car in a garage.
The movie really takes a turn when they go back to a “wrong” 1985. It’s a nightmare version of the town where Biff Tannen is a billionaire casino mogul. Frankly, aside from the bikers and the smog, it didn’t look much worse than the 1985 we already had. But then, because the writers couldn’t think of anything new, we go back to 1955. Again. We spend the last hour of the movie watching the characters sneak around the events of the first movie. It’s like watching a “Greatest Hits” reel while someone yells “Wait, there’s more!” in your ear.
Michael J. Fox is still running around like he’s got ants in his pants. He plays Marty, Marty Jr., and Marlene McFly. It’s a gimmick that wears thin after about thirty seconds. Thomas F. Wilson, however, is the MVP here. He plays about four different versions of Biff, and he’s the only one who looks like he’s having any fun. He’s mean, he’s stupid, and he’s the only thing keeping me from nodding off during the technical jargon.
And don’t get me started on the ending. It’s not even an ending! It’s a “To Be Continued” sign slapped on the screen. I paid for a full movie, not a two-hour advertisement for Part III. It’s a frantic, exhausting, and clever bit of filmmaking that tries to do way too much. If I wanted to be this confused about what year it was, I’d just have another glass of scotch and stare at my calendar.
Cast and Crew
- Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly / Marty Jr. / Marlene): He’s everywhere. You can’t turn a corner in this movie without hitting a Michael J. Fox. He’s talented, but even I have my limits.
- Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown): Still yelling. Still has hair that looks like he stuck his finger in a light socket. He’s the glue holding this nonsense together.
- Thomas F. Wilson (Biff Tannen / Griff / Old Biff): The man is a master of being a jerk. He’s the best part of the movie, especially as the old man who steals the time machine.
- Elisabeth Shue (Jennifer Parker): She replaced the girl from the first movie. I didn’t notice until halfway through, mostly because she spends most of the film passed out in an alley.
- Lea Thompson (Lorraine): She has to wear a lot of “old person” makeup and some… let’s call them “enhanced” features in the alternate 1985. It’s a bit much for a family film.
Special Effects and Music
The Special Effects are a step up, I’ll admit. The hoverboard chase is impressive, even if I think the idea of a floating plank is a lawsuit waiting to happen. The way they put three Michael J. Foxes in one scene is clever, but it makes my eyes hurt.
The Music is more of the same bombastic brass. Alan Silvestri really likes those trumpets. It’s heroic, sure, but it’s trying very hard to convince you that what you’re watching is “epic” rather than just a bunch of people running through back alleys in Hill Valley for the tenth time.
Rating
4.0 out of 5 Stars (Too much jumping around. I’m dizzy and I want to go home.) It’s fun looking at their ideas of the future especially since we are past that point, but its got some flaws. Still fun though.
Synopsis and Plot Breakdown
Immediately after the first film, Doc Brown arrives from 2015 and tells Marty and Jennifer they have to save their future children. They head to the future, where Marty poses as his own son to stop a robbery planned by Biff’s grandson, Griff. While there, Marty buys a sports almanac with the intention of betting on games in the past. Doc tosses it in the trash, but Old Biff finds it, steals the DeLorean, and gives the book to his younger self in 1955.
Marty and Doc return to 1985 only to find it’s a dystopian hellscape. Biff is rich, powerful, and married to Marty’s mom after murdering Marty’s dad. Doc realizes that they have to go back to 1955, specifically to the same night as the dance from the first movie to steal the book back from Teenage Biff before he can use it.
The rest of the movie involves Marty dodging his “past self” from the first movie while trying to grab the book. After a chase through a tunnel, Marty gets the almanac and burns it, restoring the timeline. However, lightning strikes the DeLorean with Doc inside, sending him back to 1885. Seconds later, a Western Union man arrives to give Marty a 70-year-old letter from Doc. Marty then runs back into town to find the 1955 Doc who just sent “Original Marty” home, causing the poor man to faint.
Famous Quotes
- “Hoverboards don’t work on water! Unless you’ve got power!”
- “Buttheads!”
- “Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly, think!”
- “The almanac, son! Look at the winners!”
- “I’m back from the future!”
Interesting Facts
- Crispin Glover didn’t return as George McFly because he wanted too much money, so they used a different actor in heavy prosthetics and hung him upside down to trick the audience. (Cheap move, Hollywood!)
- The “future” version of Cafe 80s features a video game played by a very young Elijah Wood.
- The hoverboards didn’t actually fly, they were attached to wires, and the actors were on harnesses. My knees hurt just thinking about it.
- The movie was filmed simultaneously with Part III, which is why there’s a trailer for the next one at the very end.
- Michael J. Fox had to learn how to play the guitar left-handed for one of the scenes where he plays his own son.
Photos
Trailer
Notes
I love the opening picking right up.
Shoes, Hoverboards, Restaurant, Jaws 19 all are iconic, I remember all of this stuff 35 years later.
Crazy prediction of Miami baseball team… just missed on the mascot.
More iconic future stuff, 2 ties Japan logo, Pizza Hut Hydrate, Pepsi Perfect etc. I love these background touches in this. Could watch this a hundred times and still pick out little background stuff.
They really missed on the fax prediction though 🙂
I think I would have been more terrified than Marty was in the alternate 1985
I love how they explain the timeline where Doc talks about how you can only go back from a point to make a change that forward is from where you are.
They really tried to sneak boobs in this one.
All wrapped up except…. lets do a preview for three really felt cash grabby.