Back to the Future Part II

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson, Elizabeth Shue, Billy Zane, Elijah Wood (bit part)
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: PG
Genre: Science Fiction, Comedy
Box Office: $118,450,002
1989

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary:Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travels with Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) into the future in order to save Marty's son. While there, Marty picks up a sports almanac, planning on making sure bets and winning millions of dollars. However, Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) steals the almanac and the time machine and travels back to the 1950s to give it to his younger self. This action changes the space-time continuum, and Marty and the Doc must race to change the past, present, and future to get back to the world they know.

Review:

Tim: This is a fitting sequel to the incredible original blockbuster. It takes the story and the characters out of the past and transports them into the future. However, it also manages to have enough time to stick in the present, and finally, to head back into the past. It sounds confusing, but watch the film and you will understand.

Robert Zemeckis does an impressive job keeping the story straight while the past, present, and future all overlap at various times. This complicated story is one of the drawbacks to this sequel- it is much more confusing and layered than the original. At times we almost feel lost keeping everything in order in our minds.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the film is Zemeckis' take on the future and time travel as a whole. We get to see more instances of the possibility of what time travel could do. For example, we see the answer to the question, "What would happen if you met your future self?" The movie is great because it doesn't end at Zemeckis' answer to this question, but makes us ponder it ourselves. More than ever, we see that time traveling isn't all fun and games and could really mess up how we know the world.

Michael J. Fox is superb as always. He is a terrific actor and perfectly portrays Marty McFly. Christopher Lloyd continues in his career-defining role as Doc Brown. Fox and Lloyd are so good together on screen. Their friendship is what makes this film enjoyable.

Back to the Future Part II is a good follow-up to the original. It continues the storyline, while showing us new things that keep us interested and entertained. Like the original, it is fun and exciting to watch. It doesn't have as much heart as the first film and this is where the biggest problem lies.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Back to the Future, Back to the Future Part 3, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Castaway, Forrest Gump, The American President