Movie Notes: Back To The Future 2

September 20th, 2009

= 3 stars

Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Plummer, Lea Thompson
Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Synopsis

Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) whisks Marty (Michael J. Fox) and his girlfriend Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue) into the future to present some future problems with his kids. Wondering if he should take a Sports Almanac back to 1985 to bet on games, Marty inadvertently sets off a chain of events that ruins 1985 and causes a return to 1955 (again) to set things straight.

The Good

• The time travel stuff is in large supply and gets very head numbing (in a good way) when Marty travels all the way back to 1955 and revisits events of the first movie. So in several scenes, there are two Martys in overlapping timelines, resulting in some interesting experiences as first go-rounds are painted in a different light. Also, Doc Brown tries to keep Marty and Jennifer from seeing too much of their future selves so when they return back to 1985 (which they must, in order for the future to happen) it doesn’t alter their behavior in 1985 and also affect the future.
• Using time travel for humor occasionally works well, as the future 80s nostalgia bar with a Macintosh in the window and Michael Jackson over the speakers, women cops, and ridiculous fashions (note the two ties), and the darker vision of the future. A few of the visions are accurate, like the flat panel televisions, way too many gadgets, and voice recognition. and the suburbs turning into a dump (with the housing crisis, this is already happening).
• Marty seeing his father’s grave, recalls It’s A Wonderful Life, and there’s some foreshadowing of the western-themed part III when Biff watches A Fistfull of Dollars.

The Bad

• Casting issues: Jennifer (Marty’s girlfriend) is replaced by Elisabeth Shue, and Crispin Glover, one of the funnier parts of the first installment, is replaced by a stand-in. After the awesomeness of the first film, this feels like sacrilege.
• Biff, a minor character from the first film, and his future son Griff, are major characters in this installment. Neither are interesting enough to make this worthwhile. There’s a feeling that the movie is more in love with the time travel stuff and not as much the characters, or merely the wrong characters.
• The actual 2015 is not going to be anywhere near as futuristic as this movie imagines (flying vehicles, levitating skateboards). As with many movies set in the always-too-near future, they overshot by about 50 years.
• The screwed-up 1985 where Biff becomes wealthy and marries Marty’s mother is a very dark place, therefore not a much fun as the original movie.
• The ending (if you can even call it that) is totally unsatisfying and requires watching the third installment to get any resolution.

Conclusion

While the time travel stuff is still pretty appealing, this entry is flawed and not anywhere near as much fun as the first movie. Still, it’s worth a rental with the understanding that you absolutely have to watch Back To The Future III.

IMDB: Back To The Future 2
Wikipedia: Back To The Future 2
Rotten Tomatoes: Back To The Future 2