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271 reviews in total

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54 out of 66 people found the following review useful:
Best time travel adventure!, 29 March 2005

Author: Björn De Water from Netherlands

As a huge BTTF fan, I have to admit that this is the best BTTF flick ever made. It has all the ingredients to please all audience of any age. I personally like the 50's stuff in it, but I am also a huge 80's fan (the present in the movie) and the future is just hilarious. Of course...it has been almost two decades since this movie came out, and now we know that the future that is shown in BTTF 2 is a bit funny, but hey...do you remember Total Recall? Now THAT is also a future that would never see daylight, but at least the BTTF 2 future is amusing.

I have seen this movie over a dozen times, and I tried to find things that don't match, movie mistakes etc. (yes..I am a pain in the ..)but the thing is, I KNOW that there are mistakes (like reflections in window glass) but this movie keeps your mind drifting away, enchanted by the great story and great moments. Of course Spielberg never intended to have more ingredients then the past (50's), the present and the future. But almost 20 years later...it is also a (another) great movie to see what the 80's were all about. (so another great moment for people of my age, born in the late 70's)

I recommend this movie to ANYONE, but watch BTTF(the first movie) first, because you can't watch part 2 or 3 without watching it in the right sequence.

Have fun! (I recommend the trilogy box, you can purchase it anywhere)

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44 out of 50 people found the following review useful:
From the present, to the future, back to the present, then back to the past. One great ride!, 21 March 2004

Author: clydestuff from United States

When Back to The Future was initially conceived, director and writer Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale had no idea how much notoriety it would eventually achieve, nor of the big box office records it would break. They were happy just to see their project come to fruition. When they wrote the original film, the ending they had written was supposed to be the end of it. Because of it's success, however, and Hollywood being Hollywood, there had to be the inevitable sequels. The problem was that with the original ending, they had painted themselves into a corner as to where they could go with the sequel. What they finally came up with in Part II, is a film that is every bit as whimsical as the original, yet moves along at a pace that will leave you breathless.

For part II the cast is pretty much intact from the original film. The exceptions are Crispin Glover as George McFly has been replaced by Jeffrey Weisman and Claudia Wells has been replaced by Elizabeth Shue as Marty's girlfriend Jennifer. George McFly's role in the sequel is more talked about by other characters than his actual on screen time, and Jennifer's time on screen is quick and brief also (although she has one great scene that takes place in the future)so neither casting change is of any consequence.

The original film dealt with how Marty had threatened his own existence because of changes he had accidentally initiated in the year 1955. For Part II, we learn what happens when the interference is of a much larger scale and consequence. As you recall, the original film ended with Doc Brown(Christopher Lloyd)whisking Marty (Michael J. Fox)and Jennifer away with him to the year 2015 to straighten out their kids. For all his harping about messing with historical events, Doc is not above initiating a bit of interference himself. In their attempt to rescue Marty's future offspring, an aged but still obnoxious Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson), steals the Delorean to transport himself into the past and to bestow upon himself a Sports Almanac book that contains the results of sporting events for years to come. Shortly thereafter, Doc and Marty return to 1985, only to find that not only is Hill Valley not what it used to be, their own lives are in pretty sad shape and far different than what they had been before. And the changes aren't good ones, or as Doc puts it "I can't imagine Hell being much worse."

What makes the Back To The Future series so terrific, is that Zemeckis and Gale took the time travel concept, applied a little originality to it, then let their imaginations run wild. In BTTFII, we get a story that moves along like a runaway freight train. Not content to give us what the year 2015 may be truly like, since making such predictions are usually wrong anyway, they decide to let it all hang loose and just have fun with it. There are holographic theaters, Cafe 80's shops, antique stores that sell dustbusters and other things, skateboards that hover, paying for cab rides with thumbprints, etc. etc. Yet, for all the glossy, multi-colored stores and goofy concepts, we still recognize it as the same old Hill Valley. Something else Zemeckis and Gale do is to take some events from the first film, and replay them in 2015 Hill Valley. Usually, things like this would be seen as the lack of an idea, but in this case its simply Zemeckis having a little fun and letting us in on it. It works perfectly.

Likewise, the alternative version of 1985 Hill Valley is an exercise in how far one's imagination can go. Instead of a quaint peaceful town and suburbs, Zemeckis and Gale do everything in their power to give us the equivalent of an opposite. To go into too much detail here would undermine your own viewing experience and give away a bit too much of the plot.

Then to add fuel to the fire, we once again revisit Hill Valley in 1955, where things really go berserk what with two Marty's and two Docs inhabiting the same year. Zemeckis does a great job of cutting new scenes into footage from the original film with different angles and different perspectives of previous seen activities.

As for the cast, Fox and Lloyd keep their characters of Marty and Doc on the same entertaining level as before. Fox is also given the chore of playing his nerdy son of the future, Marty as a middle aged man and even his daughter of the future. He is pretty much successful except I do think playing his daughter was a bit much. Lea Thompson, again has the difficult chore of bringing Lorraine Mcfly to us in three different characterizations, and as before handles it admirably. Her 1955 Lorraine will always be her most memorable characterization in these films, but the others are equally well done. As for Thomas F. Wilson as Biff, Biff is biff, no matter how old, how young, or how powerful he may be, and his consistence of performance is also noteworthy.

Some have complained about being able to follow Zemeckis and Gale's storyline. If you have seen the first film, you'll have no trouble in that regard. I sure didn't, and for me it was one heck of a comedic thrill ride from beginning to end. If you don't have fun watching Back To The Part II, then the only thing I can think of is that your as much of a curmudgeon as old Biff from 2015. It's not often that a sequel can live up to it's predecessor, but when it does, and introduces some originality along the way you get my grade, which for Back To The Future is an A.

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52 out of 69 people found the following review useful:
Excess with good reason, good skill, and great results!, 9 June 2000

Author: Michael DeZubiria (miked32@hotmail.com) from Luoyang, China

Marty McFly is back, and this time he has to travel back to 1955 after an unfortunate incident which took place in 2015 so that he can prevent the destruction of the peaceful society of Hill Valley (what a great fictional name!). The film provides two hours of absolutely wonderful and fun entertainment.

Every paradox and logical problem of time-travel is explained very well in the film itself, and those that are left out are easily overlooked due to the creativeness of the rest of the film. Who cares that if Marty leaves 1985 in a time machine to 2015, there would be no Marty left in 1985 to grow to up into the 47 year old Marty in 2015? This movie is so much fun that things like this are gladly forgotten about in order to accept the huge amount of satisfaction delivered by the film.

The Back To The Future trilogy is a perfect example of the need to be willing to abandon at least a tiny bit of logic in order to fully enjoy a movie. This suspension of disbelief is necessary for a person to be able to truly experience the effectiveness of all three Back To The Future films, and this experience truly is a great one.

It is so rare that a film or a series of films comes along that is so well written and perfectly acted and directed as the Back To The Future movies are. Although I realize that another sequel would probably be disastrous to the credibility of the series as a whole, I have to admit that I have always been disappointed that they stopped at the third film. All three are so much fun that they leave you wishing that the story left room for a few more sequels.

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41 out of 52 people found the following review useful:
Great Scott! Even the Doc Doesn't Take His Own Advice! (spoilers), 23 September 2004

Author: Pepper Anne from Orlando, Florida

It's funny that the plot of 'Back to the Future II' should be based on altering Marty McFly's future. Wasn't Doc the one who was so staunchly opposed to knowing too much about their future, preferring instead to let things take a natural course? 'Destiny!' he called it. But that is exactly what the sequel is all about, Doc's proposal to altar the future. And this leads not only to bad news for Doc Brown and Marty, but for the your Density? I mean, Destiny? (flashback humor).

The story focuses on Marty McFly's future. Picking up right where we left off in the first movie, Doc informs Marty that in the year 2015, Marty's son partakes in some unfortunate activities with Griff (Biff's grandson) that lead to his arrest and incarceration. While in the future to fix up that little mishap (again, messing with 'Destiny'), Marty picks up a sports Almanac to take back with him. The Almanac contains all sports scores since something like 1955 (why it is only the size of a magazine, I don't know, considering it covers major college and pro sporting event for a whole lot of years).

The Doc, in disgust at Marty's foolish get-rich-quick desires, throws the magazine out (while still in 2015). Unfortunately, Biff, now an old man, gets hold of both the magazine and the Delorian and travels to his young self in 1955. This sets off a change of events in the past so that when Marty and the Doc, now in the future, are ready to go back to 1985, suddenly find themselves in an unfamiliar hell. With Biff changing the past, he also changed the future, creating a desolate, alternate 1985. One where Biff is the richest man in Hill Valley, though still the sleaziest. And where a lot of other things have changed as well. Now, Marty and the Doc have to go back to 1955 and get the magazine from Biff if they expect to restore the future and erase the alternative 1985.

This is a great sequel to a great movie. You get the 1989 version of the future (I don't know that 2015 will make the kind of progress we see in the movie with cool flying cars and dehydrating pizzas and hoverboards). This is the special effects and visual beauty of the second, whereas in the first one, it was recreating the past. Marty had to once adapt to 1955, now he has to do the same for 2015, even if only for a moment.

But, it also ties in another creative aspect: when Marty and the Doc must return to 1955, they only know the whereabouts of Biff based on where they last saw him in that year--the school dance and all of that which took place in the first movie. Going back to that past means that a Marty "Calvin Klein" McFly is already there, and the events are taking place again just as we saw them in the first movie. And now, the Marty and the Doc from the future are intermingling once again with their past versions of themselves. So, in essence, the filmmakers had to recreate some of the scenes from the old movie, from different angles, and the actors had to play dual roles (which they do often throughout the trilogy) by being added into those scenes. It was a great special effects/visionary project to undertake, and what makes the series so damned creative and really a fun idea. And here, too, the goal is to avoid running into your past self because, yes, it could altar events once again. I wonder how the future changed since Marty and Doc's intervention in 2015?

So, prepare yourself for what may arguably be the best movie out of the trilogy (probably because you get to see the future and past and everything in between; although, I'm still torn between rating the first or the second as my absolute favorite). It is the continuation of a fun first movie, and keeps up the creativity and novelty. I think that was the reason most responsible for its success: the ability to keep offering something new (although some things, are obviously repeated, like the running gag of Marty blacking out and waking up to some version of his mother informing him of what year it is after he tells her what an awful dream he had).

So, sit back and let the Delorean be your guide.

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28 out of 34 people found the following review useful:
Revenge of the 80's: The Franchise, 5 February 2005

Author: Miyagis_Sweaty_wifebeater (sirjosephu@aol.com) from Sacramento, CA

Back to the Future Part II (1989) was green lighted after the success of the first film. The film follows the further adventures of Marty and Doc Brown. This film and the third installment were filmed back to back. However the complexity of the storyline turned off many of the fans of the original. But this is what I enjoyed about this movie. Instead of being the same old run-of-the-mill by the numbers sequel, the film makers decided to do something different and make this a brain twister film. The beauty of this movie is that you have to pay close attention to it.

The film takes place right after the events of part one. Doc Brown comes back from the future to help Marty get his kid out of trouble. Instead of leaving well enough alone, all three of them head off to the future to try and change events. They managed to pull it off but unfortunately they tore a fabric in time due to Marty being greedy and the nosy efforts of Doc Brown. Can Doc and Marty safely restore the space and time continuum before the universe collapses upon itself?

A fun sequel with a few cast changes (Elizabeth Shue now portrays Marty's girlfriend whilst Crispin Glover is no longer with in the film except in stock footage). Most of the original players return to reprise their original roles. Michael J. Fox stretches his acting abilities by playing his son and daughter as well as his older self. If you enjoyed the first film then you'll really want to watch this one (if you haven't already).

Highly recommended.

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20 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Part 2-The Cubs won the World Series?!, 1 December 2006

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

I'm one lucky girl, I rented all three Back to the Future films, so I could watch them all in a row, I didn't have to wait year after year, well I was kinda born in 1985, so it's all good. But anyways, I just saw the Back to the Future trilogy tonite and after it seeming like I was the only person who didn't see these movies, I did it! Part two was a very good sequel, while it isn't quite up to par with the first Back to the Future, it was cool, it was kinda like Deja Vu with a different story that worked.

Marty and Jennifer start off where the first left off, Doc takes them to the year 2015(which is funny that it is only 8 years away), and Doc tells Marty to fix a situation with his future son. Biff overhears an idea later brought up to Doc about possibly giving himself tips to win big money for the future as soon as they go back, but Doc talks him out of it, but Biff has different plans and takes the book and the De Lauren and goes back to 1955 and makes himself the richest man alive in 1985, so Marty and The Doc must go back and alter the future back to it's old ways.

Part two is definitely worth a look for those Back to the Future fans, not to mention, it's just good to see where these stories go. Like I said, it's not as good as the first, but it is a good movie and actually a little better than a 7.1, if you ask me. But that's just me, so just give this movie a chance, you just might find yourself enjoying it.

9/10

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19 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Just cool, 15 March 2004
Author: Dana Wang from Taipei, Taiwan

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Marty (Michael J Fox) is glad to be back to 1985. A much better 1985 with a much happier family, because back in 1955 something good happens and that changes the future. While he's about to relax with his girlfriend, Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue), Doc Emmet Brown (Christopher Lloyd) comes back from 2015 with his DeLorean time machine and asks Marty to go back to the future to save his children. While doing their job, Marty buys a sports almanac of the 20th century and unfortunately, when Doc seriously asks him to throw it away, Biff (Thomas F Wilson), a long-time nemesis, overhears their conversation, takes the book from the waste bin, steals the time machine and gives the almanac to his younger self back in 1955.

When Doc and Marty get back to 1985, they realise that things have changed. Hill Valley has turned into hell, governed by the wealthy, powerful and devilish Biff Tannen. Marty's father has long been dead and his mother is married to Biff. What went wrong? Finally Doc and Marty find out that they must revisit 1955 and get things right...

This fascinating sequel has some fun and some dark sides in it. The skate boarding scene is just brilliant. What a deja vu. The 2015 presented in the film is quite interesting (I wonder if 2015 will look just like that) and we get to watch once again Marty playing 'Johnny B Goode' and his father punching Biff. In the end, after getting back in 1985, Marty unintentionally changes his own future for better again.

Most sequels are pathetic, but this one is different. It succeeds in exciting the audience. The whole cast did a good job, Michael J Fox is great fun playing several characters at the same time. Along with the original and 'Back to the Future Part III', this is for certain one of the best time travel flicks. Not to be missed!

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19 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
Back to the Future - the only '80s movie that's completely...timeless!, 11 July 2006

Author: JimmyZappa from United States

I love the original movie, so don't get me wrong, but I have a special thing for really cool looking futuristic things. Especially if they're made out to look really interesting like in this sequel.

The story is still very good, the characters are still lovable and have some great lines, and the ending is superb even if it leaves you wanting for a little more. Interchanging between this movie and the last (even the next) were great twists and turns, probably still the best achievement i've seen properly executed in a film to date.

While the original is probably an eleven on my scale now, this one used to be my all time favorite one in the BTTF trilogy. And there's still a whole lot to love about this movie, even the kids today will probably appreciate how much fun this movie is even with all the flash and more advanced CG effects they have in their movies today.

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12 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
The Travelling Through Time Continues, 30 July 2008
Author: Chrysanthepop from Fraggle Rock

'Back to the Future Part II' takes off where the first movie left. Pretty much the essence of the first one is present except this time Elisabeth Shue has been cast as Marty's girlfriend. Like the first movie, this one too is non-stop fun. The original plot once again, brilliantly revolves around the time-travelling paradox but this time the interference with the time-line has huger repercussions that are more complicated to solve. It's slightly a little more complex than the first movie but the energy and entertainment level is the same. I liked Zemeckis's version of 2015. It has that ultracool look and the futuristic gadgets and gizmos were quite amusing. The soundtrack is equally wild. The camera-work and special effects are very well done considering that the challenge was greater (e.g. showing two Michael J. Fox on the same screen). Okay, so showing the same actor share the screen with himself isn't anything new but in most movies/shows it looks poorly done which is not the case here. With most movies, the sequel tends to be a let down but 'Back to the Future Part II' is a great continuation of the first film.

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31 out of 54 people found the following review useful:
Great Scott - this is Heavy, 16 December 2004

Author: EJBaggaley (EJBaggaley@yahoo.co.uk) from uk

Back to the Future 2 is a brilliant sequel, for its incredible futuristic special effects made this film into a Classic Time Travel movie. There was a period, however, when the entire film went stagnant and downhill, but did pick-up again as the film went on. Up until the part when Marty McFly(Micheal J. Fox) returned to the alternate(Biff ruled) 1985 for when Marty got hit over the head by Biffs goons infront of the Clocktower/Biffs Casino Hotel this film was spectacular, but thereafter that scene, this film endlessly dragged-on.

In time this film did pick-up again when Marty McFly went back in time to the year 1955 to retrieve the Sports Almanac that Old Biff gave to young Biff, for that spiced up the film again. Even though I very much enjoyed this film, I did find that there were loads of contradictions in it that didn't make sense. The scene when Old Biff travelled back in time from the year 2015 to the year 1955 to give the Sports Almanac to himself (so he can win money on horse racing by knowing the winning results ahead of time) and then returned to the year 2015 didn't quite match up. This is because when Old Biff travelled back in time to the year 1955 giving himself(Young Biff) the Sports Almanac so he could become rich, he did in fact change history. This means that when he returned to the year 2015 it should have been the new alternate(Biff ruled) 2015, but it wasn't, for it was the same normal 2015 that he departed from.

Another scene is when Marty and Doc Brown(Christopher Lloyd) went back home to the year 1985 after fixing Martys family problems in the year 2015, didn't make proper sense either because seeing how old Biff changed history, that prevented Marty and Doc Brown from ever meeting one another and even Doc Brown from inventing the Time machine. This doesn't match up either - for this would have caused a time travel paradox that Doc Brown often speaks about, which would have ceased their existences to time as they knew it, and their souls would have been redeemed into the new alternate(1985) existences, for Marty would have become the new Marty that lives in a boarding school in Switzerland and Doc Brown would have been redeemed into the life of the alternate existence of being committed into a mental Institution, but it didn't happen that way. Instead, there were two Doc Browns and two Marty McFlys living in the same year and from different parallel universes/ time vessels - and many other examples of contradiction that just go on and on. Mind you, this film is a Comedy/Sci-fi and seeing as time travel is a fantasy subject, a person really can't take these contradictions seriously, for this film 'Back to the Future/ Part 2'(and other time travel movies) are about enjoying yourself and having a laugh. Despite this films contradictions which aren't a big deal anyway, i'd recommend anybody to watch this movie for the acting was good, especially Thomas Wilson(Biff/Griff Tannen) who performed a fantastic acting job, the special effects/background was amazing along with its great lighting and colour co-ordination and most of all the storyline was good. However, this film didn't have the most original storyline as this films storyline was copied from the film 'Its a wonderful life' but don't let that put you off watching the film 'Back to the future/Part 2' for the film 'Its a wonderful life' was a beautiful movie with a great storyline with a great plot and moral.

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