Clever sequel is action-packed, but goofier and with a more complicated plot

Rating: 7/10 (24 March 2017)

Released in 1989, "Back to the Future Part II" stars Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, a teen from 1985 who travels to 2015 with Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) on his time machine. When they return to 1985 they discover that an item was inadvertently taken from 2015 and brought to 1955, which changed history and made Hill Valley a dystopia. So they frantically venture back to 1955 to try to correct the problem. Crispin Glover & Lea Thompson play Marty's parents while Thomas F. Wilson plays the villain, Biff. Elisabeth Shue replaces Claudia Wells as Marty's girlfriend, but she's asleep most of the movie.
This is almost as good as the first movie, but the goofy tone of the first act throws it off, although it's action-packed. The next two acts are better as Marty & Doc go back in time and cleverly try to fix things. While the plot is way more complicated than the first film it's surprisingly easy to follow (Doc effectively explains the logistics in one scene). However, it's mandatory that you watch the first movie to fully appreciate this one.
It can be argued that the movie was overly optimistic about the future (that is, 2015), but it was surprisingly accurate with some things, like video phones and, to some degree, hover-boards. But since the 'future' shown in the movie (2015) is a timeline manipulated by the protagonists it's an ALTERNATE reality and not necessarily the way things panned out in reality. It was Doc himself who invented the technology for flying automobiles since he already created the flying DeLorean in the first movie.
The film runs 108 minutes and was shot in Oxnard, Monrovia, Arleta, Whittier, Baldwin Park, South Pasadena, Pasadena, Universal City and Los Angeles, California. DIRECTOR: Robert Zemeckis. WRITERS: Zemeckis & Bob Gale.
GRADE: B+