Inventive sequel demands a close watch

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2015)

This sequel to the family-orientated sci-fi smash of 1985 is probably just as much fun as the first film, with an even more complex plot and a more frenzied approach to the narrative. The first half hour is a little weak, but once the major plot twist arrives the story begins proper and gets really good. The film also has a large amount of humour and slapstick-style comedy to appeal to the kids, and Christopher Lloyd's eyeball-rolling performance as the mad scientist is arresting for sure.
On the plus side, this film does some very inspired things with its time-travelling plot and is one of the most complex I've seen - the film takes place variously in the future, in the past, in the present and in a couple of alternate realities just to bamboozle you. You have to concentrate throughout at the risk of getting really confused by the whole thing, but if you stick with it you'll find it to be rewarding. Another plus are the special effects of levitating "hoverboards" and flying cars which haven't dated at all and are still impressive to this day, and plentiful too - every penny of the budget is up on screen somewhere.
There are lots of action sequences which are always entertaining, and Michael J Fox is endearing as the lead and I'm still surprised that this is the same guy who played the chubby weakling only seven years previously in CLASS OF 1984. The second sequel was shot back-to-back and released a year later, but the law of diminishing returns resulted in a film far less enjoyable than the first two in the series. I particularly like that most of the narrative in this one is comprised of a simple chase to capture a crucial book, which eases away all of the background complexity in favour of simple, crowd-pleasing entertainment.