A Bit Too Confusing and Dark

Rating: 7/10 (30 January 1999)

I just loved Back to the Future (the original) when it was released in 1985, and was suddenly struck with the urge to see Part II. This time the 1985 teen hero travels to the future of 2015, then back to 1955, then to a new alternative, Bladerunner-like present (1985), then back to 1955 before..... Although ok (we gave it a 7 on the 1 to 10 scale) it had some rather serious problems. 1. It's confusing, and would be hopelessly so if you haven't seen the original. 2. It lacks the whimsy of the first installment. Things seem grimmer, there is even a murder (luckily only heard and read about but nonetheless incongruous to this type of film). 3. Very cutsey commercializations of products like Pepsi, and they are all over the film. Very obnoxious. 4. An unanticipated problem is their portrayal of how hip and cool the present is (1985), is aging badly. While in 2015 a scene is filmed in the Club 80s, a 1980s nostalgia club...and now you can't tell what is intentionally or unintentionally camp. And the movie ends with a cliffhanger "to be continued....Part III.
I hope they wrap it up better than Part II.