Review of Back to the Future Part II (1989) by Kai82 — 10 Apr 2021

A sequel that challenges the already excellent prequel. I am still undecided which one is the better movie. The first one is more unique but the sequel is also amazing. Since both are truly great movies it does not really mater at the end of the day.

While it is also a science fiction comedy it is also different and has a bit of a darker tone than the prequel. The movie starts at the end of the prequel (At the sequel teaser) were Doc Brown appeared again to bring Marty and his girlfriend Jennifer into the future in the year 2015 to prevent serious family troubles there (This sounds fake now as we are already past 2015;-).

However because of some carelessness this is just a small inconvenience to the events that happen when they return to the past. I will stop here with the set up to avoid spoilers. The story is magnificent and the twists are remarkable.

They could play it safe but tried something new. This works well, is immersive and enjoyable from start to finish. Bonus: Many years later it was interesting to make the comparison between the movie imagination and real year 2015 (The imagination won;-).

I will praise the creativity here for the story and worldbuilding. Much of the pop culture knowledge of fictional time travel is from this movie. Again they mastered the balance between seriousness and humor in a way that none harms the other.

Also again the great cast delivers a performance that enhances the movie. Lets start with Marty McFly played by Michael J. Fox who again fully delivers his role. Same for Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown who is our beloved eccentric or slightly mad scientist;-).

These 2 have such a great chemistry in the franchise. Thomas F. Wilson returns as Biff Tannen and even surpasses his performance from the first movie. It is no wonder why he is one of the most memorable antagonist of his (movie) age.

The rest of the cast also adds to the great performance and I will praise all of them. Where this movie is clearly a bit weaker than the prequel is the soundtrack and it is still a good soundtrack. Overall this was a great sequel.

It has the strength of the original and fresh ideas. The story and humor in combination with the actors work well. It is an easy recommendation and I will praise director Robert Zemeckis for this great movie.