A worthy sequel

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2000)

Back to the Future is one of my favorite movies so it's no surprise that I took an immediate liking to Back to the Future Part II. It's not as humorous as the first, but it is much more creative and is still a fun time.
As shown at the end of Back to the Future, Marty McFly (Micheal J. Fox) has just returned from 1955, saving his parents lives, along with his own. Everything seems great, until Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) pulls up on the front driveway of Marty's house in the DeLorean time machine. He tells Marty that they must go to 2015 to save Marty's future life! He leaves with his girlfriend Jennifer into the future. After repairing the damage done by Griff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson), Biff Tannnen's grandson, Marty buys a sports almanac that disrupts the space time continuem. While Marty and Doc are somewhere else, Biff steals the almanac and the DeLorean, goes to 1955 and gives the book to a young version of himself, and returns. When Doc and Marty reappear in 1985, they find that it has become a corrupt criminal empire with Biff as the head. Now they must return to 1955 and stop Biff from getting the almanac, if they can get their first!
The movie doesn't really introduce any new cast members but their are some nice twists. Fox plays four different parts: Marty McFly, Marty McFly from 2015, Marty McFly Jr. and his future daughter! It looks like he was having a great time playing multiple roles, as the tradition carried on into the next sequel. Jennifer has a bigger part in Part II, but I preferred Claudia Wells to Elisabeth Shue.
The creativity in this film sparkels. I love the sequences in 2015, showing all the future inventions like video waiters, Hover Boards, and a little pizza that, when microwaved, can turn into a large size in 4 seconds. Plus flying cars, holographic dog kennels, the list goes on and on. It's really fun to watch. Plus the visual effects are even better than those from the original film.
The only problem I had with this movie is the humor. It's just not as funny as the first movie. Marty is not as funny and Crispin Glover is sorely missed as Marty's dad. Also, Biff Tannen is a high-school bully. It's a little over the top that he would turn into a vicious murderer that "owns the police" and turns Hill Valley into Hell. But nowadays, maybe it's a little more believable.
All in all, this movie is really good. Anyone who saw the first should enjoy it a lot but I would reccomend seeing the first one and then the sequel if you have not seen either. A fun movie.