"I don't understand one damn thing that's going on."

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2001)

While it does fairly well for itself on the IMDb, I've found BTTF II to be regarded as the weakest link in some quarters.
I'd put this down to its complex narrative, which confuses some and leaves others cold. A shame, as it's my favourite of the series, brimming with constant invention. Many of the delights of the film come from futuristic devices you just wish were real: hover skateboards, self-lacing boots and auto-drying clothes. The movie somehow, inexplicably, has the power to draw you into its experiences. You might not be able to ride a hoverboard, but this is the next best thing.
Some brilliant in-jokes are pitched in Executive Producer Steven Spielberg's direction: a holographic Jaws 19 is dismissed by Marty as "still looks fake", while pal Michael Jackson gets a Max Headroom makeover. This is the sort of film where it's almost impossible to get bored, there's simply always something to see, and the pace never lets up. Michael J. Fox is as likeable as always in the lead role, while Thomas F. Wilson clearly enjoys going over the top in his dual parts.
Apart from some product placement this really is a harmless, superb entertainment, and while some of the sports references - the Cubs winning the world series - mean little outside America, the principle of using time to cheat at gambling is a universally understood one. If there's a genuine complaint then it's that the series misses the presence of Crispin Glover, and that Lea Thompson gives a weak performance, though this is more than made up for by the multiple roles Fox gets to play. His five parts include his future self, plus his own son and daughter! And while some of the flying car effects may look a tad dated now (though only just), the split screen elements are flawless.
There are some plotholes to mix in with the fun timeshifting - if Biff created an alternate timeline in the past then the future he returned to wouldn't have been the same one occupied by Marty and the Doc - but are irrelevant among all the fun and imagination of this superior sequel. While it may not be high art, BTTF II does some wonderful things with the medium, and breaches film excellence with a final third that seamlessly blends in the action to events in the first film. In fact, I nearly added another mark to its total... 7/10.