1600 reviews!!! Another one of my favourites

Rating: 9/10 (12 August 2014)

After catching one of my all time favourite films (which I reviewed 1000 reviews ago) on the big screen last week, I decided to power through the trilogy since it has been awhile. The entire Back To The Future series in my opinion is absolutely brilliant. It is the quintessential 80's film, the pinnacle of time travel movies, some of the best characters, best script, and cutting edge special effects that still hold up today as far as I'm concerned. When I was a kid I probably would have slapped a 10/10 on all three of the films. I adored them and still do. In watching Back To The Future 2 for the first time in ages I was shocked to discover that while I still LOVED it...I certainly noticed a few of its (albeit very minor) flaws. Back To The Future 2 is actually very different from the original film. Its darker, over the top, even a little cheesy in some regards. It pokes fun at itself and the first film, gives us everything we could possibly want from a sequel while still managing to be a very different sort of movie. I can't think of a single other film that actually returns to the first movie in a whole new way. This is revolutionary, one of a kind and continues to floor me watching Marty's continuing adventures in the backdrop of the first film. This series could be rife with plot holes given how twisted the plot is and I'm sure if you scientifically dissect the film there are some but none that glare the average movie goer in the face. This is a brilliant sequel.
Michael J. Fox is Marty Mcfly. In the first film he was smooth, suave, the perfect "cool kid" that you immediately wanted to be or at least hang around him. Fox returns in Back To The Future 2 and I noticed that his Mcfly this time around is a little less slick but still a great hero. He's almost just a little bit goofy compared to the first film which is a flaw to me but a minor one. Mcfly is still terrific and his turn as his own son and his daughter is awesome to watch. Christopher Lloyd absolutely shines again as the most zany and eccentric inventory Doc. Brown. Lloyd is perfect and no one else could ever make Doc come to life like always has. Best of all the backbone of this series is the incredible chemistry between Fox and Lloyd and this friendship that seems very real. Thomas F. Wilson also returns as senior Biff, middle aged Biff and young Biff and is the ultimate bully and villain. He plays all three roles flawlessly and is so great. He is one of the all time villainous greats while being a complete moron at the same time. Lea Thompson also returns in a much smaller role as Marty's Mom. Thompson is good again but the role is definitely a background role this time around. Many of the supporting characters return as well but Jennifer is replaced by the lovely Elisabeth Shue (her role is very small as well) and Crispin Glover is replaced in the future George role by Jeffrey Weissman though you can hardly tell.
This trilogy single-handedly made Robert Zemeckis one of the best directors in my books. Never mind the fact that he then went on to create the incredible world of Forrest Gump (another of my top five films) and many other amazing movies. If you look at Back To The Future 2 (and the entire trilogy) from a film making perspective you can't help but be awe inspired. It is such a unique idea and pioneers the science fiction genre but creating very real characters that you relate to while being silly and outrageous and excessive and sometimes ridiculous and you love every single minute of it. The legendary soundtrack from the first film (Huey Lewis and The News) is lacking from the second film though they still have that amazing theme song of course at the height of every great climactic scene. Hoverboards, past, present and future in one film, running gags galore (manure truck, certain one liners, scenes from the first film, "Great Scott", the delorean...everything comes together nearly flawlessly. To further prove Zemeckis and Spielberg's brilliance working together on this, there are things they sort of forced into this sequel that weren't in the first (Marty and his fear of being called Chicken for instance) but they work it in their flawlessly and made it instantly memorable. You can't watch the first film without seeing the second...or the third but each film stands firmly in its own unique way. If you have never seen this series...you are absolutely missing out on movie genius and the most entertaining trilogy ever made and if you have seen it before, go watch it again because its rare to have this much fun. 9/10