Back To The Future Part II - Review

This review has been long overdue. Now its time for the second entry in this classic trilogy, Back To The Future Part II. Robert Zemeckis stated in the first film's DVD commentary that he had no interest in making a second film, but the cliffhanger ending suggested otherwise. Part II picks up immediately after the first film ended, proceeding to another thrilling and humorous adventure.

Doc returns back to the year 1985, now with his new hover-converted/fusion generating time machine DeLorean. He takes Marty and his girlfriend (future wife) Jennifer to the year 2015 to save their future children from ruining their lives. While in the future, Marty buys a sports statistics almanac after getting the idea of using it to place wages on sports games, knowing the outcome of the game ahead of time. Unfortunately, when Biff overhears Marty's idea, he borrows the time machine, goes into the past, and alters the space-time continuum creating a Hell-ish 1985 Hill Valley. Now Doc and Marty must go back to the past once again and stop Biff from destroying the future.

Since the first Back to the Future was such a great film, following it with a sequel would have definitely been a tough job. I have to say, Part II is a solid second entry to a great series. Most of the original cast returns for the sequel. Michael J. Fox as Marty, Christopher Lloyd as Doc, Thomas F. Wilson as Biff, and Lea Thompson as Loraine all are back. The only major actor to not return unfortunately is Crispin Glover as George. All the characters are still very amusing, Doc and Marty still have their charm, Biff is a complete jerk once again, and Loraine is very likeable despite her multitude of personal problems. One thing I've always commended the BTTF series for doing is expanding its characters personalities. Biff is the best example of this. In the first movie, he was little more than a bully... an over-the-top and disgusting character, but still just a schoolyard bully. Now, he's become a full-fledged villain. Not only is he mean, but he's an evil, powerful, ruthless, almost dictator-like character. Actually, the movie itself is centered around Biff more than the Mcfly family, an interesting change in direction.

The pacing of the sequel is just as good as the first. It has some very exciting action sequences and the comedic timing is still dead on. I always get a chuckle out of Biff's line, "Why don't you make like a tree and get outta here." The scenes in 2015 are pretty cool looking, if not a bit silly. Nonetheless, their fun scenes to watch and in part keep the movie entertaining. Personally I enjoyed how the production designers created the alternate 1985 Hill Valley, after Biff came to power and ruined a once nice town. The special effects still look pretty dang good. I'm sure they were pretty incredible at the time of the movie's release. At times, they do come off as a bit dated, but overall they still get the job done.

As enjoyable as the movie is, there are quite a few noticeable faults. First off, the script has holes so big you could drive trucks through them. The first had quite a few inconsistencies, but the sequel is much worse. Once again, I must reiterate that time travel does not exist and therefore there are no set rules to abide by, but they still need to follow some basic trend of logic. Also like the first, Part II is plagued by an abundance of product placement, only this time they make little to no effort to make any jokes out of it. The future scenes, while having a nice look to them, come off as very silly and outlandish today. 2015 is only five years away, and this movie predicted that we would all be driving flying cars, riding on hover boards, watching holographic movies, eating dehydrated food, and being served by robots. Of course, if technology catches up to this movie in 5 years, the joke will be on me.

Another minor thing to note is concerning Marty's character. In the first act, Marty reveals that he gets upset and confrontational whenever someone calls him chicken. This character flaw becomes a major subplot in both this movie and the third, but little to no explanation is given as to why this suddenly comes up. The only serious problem I have with this movie is that it borrows a little too much from the first. For instance, the hover board chase sequence is ripped straight off from the skate board scene in the first movie. Not to mention, a lot of the first film's gags and jokes are repeated and rehashed. The film, however, does retain enough originality to differentiate it from the first.

Overall, I think Back to the Future Part II is a great sequel. Despite all the flaws I've nitpicked, the movie has enough going for it to keep it entertaining. It still has the charm, wit, and timing of the first, and serves as a great second installment in a great series.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5.

Back To The Future Review

Now after having done a few single reviews, here's my first series' review. To start, I decided on one of my favorite trilogies', "Back to the Future." To start off, here's my review of the series' first film.

Oh the 1980s, how I wish I could have experienced that decade first hand. I was born in 1987, so my brief memories 80s culture was limited to the leftovers from the early 90s. You know, Ninja Turtles, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, etc. But we'll always have 80s movies, many of which were colorful campy productions with amusingly over-the-top art direction. Even the worst of the 80s flicks could generally amount to a guilty pleasure (not all, but quite a few). Of course, some of the greatest movies and franchises came out of the 80s. Some of my personal favorites include Ghostbusters, Amadeus, Indiana Jones, A Christmas Story, and many more. Of course, one of the quint-essential 80s flicks has to be none other than "Back to the Future." As cliche as this saying may be, the movie really does have something for everyone. The genre of the movie would probably be considered a sci-fi/comedy, but its littered with various thrills, action, adventure, and even some romance.

The story follows 17-year-old Marty Mcfly living in the year 1985. He is a cool and hip high school student and aspiring musician. He has a good circle of friends and is in love with his girlfriend, Jennifer. Unlike Marty, his family is almost the complete opposite. His father, George, is and always has been a gutless dweeb still being taunted by his high school bully Biff Tannen, his mother, Lorianne, is an alcoholic, his brother works a dead-end job with absolutely no ambitions in life, and his sister is a hopeless romantic. Marty couldn't have fallen any further from the tree. Marty is also friends with a wacky old scientist, Dr. Emmett Brown, whom Marty affectionately refers to as "Doc." On one fateful 1985 evening, Doc reveals to Marty his latest and greatest invention, a time machine made from a DeLorean automobile. After demonstrating the vehicle he reveals its time travelling fuel, Plutoneom. Doc then reveals that he stole the Plutonium from a group of Libyan terrorists. After finding the two at the mall, the Libyans shoot and kill Doc, while Marty jumps in the time machine and accidentally goes back to the year 1955 while attempting to outrun the Libyans. Now stuck in the year 1955, without any Plutonium, Marty encounters numerous problems. First, after running into his 17 year old parents, he accidentally prevents them from meeting, and therefore preventing his own existence unless he gets them to fall in love again in one week. Also, after he tracks down Doc, the two desperately attempt to find a way for Marty to return back to the future.

Okay, I love this movie. I've seen in dozens of times and it just gets better with age. It has its nostalgic value but the film just stands on its own so well. First off, the characters are great. Michael J. Fox portrays Marty in such a clever way. He's a very likable character whom you really want to see succeed by the end of the film. At the same time, Crispin Glover as George is dead on. Glover is well known for playing odd and eccentric characters, and this is probably his most well known. You appreciate the character, but you can't help but pity him sometimes. He can be so pathetic but very likeable at the same time. Lea Thompson is good as well as Lorianne. You want to see George and Lorianne hook up by the end, not just for Marty's sake, but for their's as well. The two stand out performances are Christopher Lloyd as Doc and Thomas F. Wilson as Biff. Lloyd plays Doc with such eccentricity and character that you can't forget. He doesn't really overact, but he does it with just the right amount of "crazy scientist" personality in a way that its funny, effective, and very memorable. I really did enjoy Thomas F. Wilson as Biff Tannen, the dim-witted bully. His character is such a unlikable asshole that while clearly an antagonist and crucial to the character development, never really ascends into the territory of "villain" until the sequels. Still, his performance is spot on, and totally works with the cast. Its a shame the actor didn't get much recognition beyond this series, because he did a very good job.

The characters are great in their own right but they clash brilliantly, especially Marty and Doc. A cool 17-year-old with little interest in science and a wacky old man with few social skills would probably be the least likely duo ever, but thats why it works. Their friendship provides some great comedic moments and keep the story flowing nicely. Speaking of which, there's never a dull moment in this movie. Every second there's either something exciting, funny, or thrilling happening on screen. The time travel concept is really interesting and the way the setting and timeline progresses across 30 years is a pleasure to see. Director Robert Zemeckis and his production team assembled some great sets and props that compliment their respective time periods. The DeLorean/Time Machine looks awesome and seeing it speeding up to 88 mph and traveling across time is awesome to watch. Composer Alan Silvestri's musical score is amazing as well, totally complimenting the action every second of the film. I could go on and on talking about everything I love in this movie, because there is a lot more, but that should be enough.

With the good, however, comes the bad. This is one of my favorite films, and I would prefer to ignore its flaws. Unfortunately, there are some things I just can't escape. Every movie I've seen involving time travel has numerous plot holes, and unfortunately, Back to the Future is no exception. Granted its a fictional concept with no set rules obviously, but it still leaves a lot for the viewer to comprehend. While Marty is back in time, he changes the future (makes sense) but the rules of altering time change periodically according to the story. Its never explained thoroughly and unless you've seen the movie it's extremely hard to explain. They don't bother me much, but they're impossible to ignore. The other complaint I have is pretty minor, but noticeable. The movie's use of product placement is quite excessive. Pepsi, Toyota, Calvin Klein, etc. Granted they're not that noticeable and many of the film's product references provide some of the movie's more clever jokes, so I can let that one slide. The 80s nostalgia might get overlooked by some viewers not born in the 80s as well. For instance, there is a scene where Marty is at a 50s cafe, and orders a Tab and then a Pepsi Free. The joke is humorous if you get the reference, but seeing as both Tab and Pepsi Free either are not as popular or don't even exist will likely result in a missed joke. Again, none of the film's flaws ruin the movie, but they're impossible not to notice.

Overall, I'll always consider this one of my favorite movies. I really really really really really really really want to give it a perfect 5 star score, but with those little flaws I mentioned, I just can't bring myself to do so. For just entertainment value, its a 5 star film, for overall quality of film making, its a 4.5 star film. Either way, if you haven't seen this film, go watch it now!!! If you have seen it, go watch it again!!!