A real blast from the past.

Rating: 8/10 (12 May 2008)

My Take: Wildly elaborate and highly imaginative.
This sequel falls where everyone feared the original BACK TO THE FUTURE might fall upon. This sequel is more effects-driven than the first film, and there are more special effects here than the first film. This sequel is not as good as the first film (and that film was very good), with its lack of ingenuity and more focused on the quality of the special effects, but that doesn't mean the special effects delight upon itself. The film is still a lot of fun, and director Robert Zemekis and producer Steven Spielberg's liveliness are at an evident abundance. It is still what a sequel should be.
Instead of going to the usual knock-off as any expensive sequel does, the new script by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis took some time (no pun intended) to right a new script with still numerous insightfully ingenious ideas, but often too many. The film jumps from the future, where McFly must right a few wrongs that occur with his future family, and then jumps from present to past and the explanation seems confusing that it injures the plot with heavy confusion. Although I wasn't immensely confused by it, but I know I'm not the same as all the audience who've seen it.
But, still, there is so much more to enjoy in the film's visual appeal, with special effects that are elaborate and fancy, even if some of which are dated to our standards. Consulting George Lucas' ILM effects house, Zemckis and crew have made this into a very busy enterprise, but one with heart. There's a lot of imagination that went to the special effects, which seemed enough for me to be appealed. What today's special effects throughly lacked are the minds behind them. This time, the effects are well imagined, owing more to those who think them up rather than those who make them fancy.
Overall, not your typical sequel. That is, because the very typical sequels are those that try their best while with so little to know about what made their predecessors so good. This one lacks what made the first film so good, but at least it makes an effort to be imaginative. I like it and I heavily recommend it.
Rating: **** out of 5.