Among the best sequels of all time.

Rating: 10/10 (6 April 2020)

'Back To The Future Part II (1989)' picks up from its predecessor's purposefully over-the-top cliffhanger and runs straight for the finish, weaving a complex web of potential paradoxes, suspenseful set-pieces and ahead-of-their-time special effects with nothing other than absolute aplomb. Of course, it isn't as good as the first film; nothing is (almost literally). Still, the thing is an absolutely solid sequel that's far, far better than it really has any right to be. There are two things it perhaps does better than its big brother: pacing and VFX. The story starts after mere moments and doesn't let up for a second, keeping you hooked until it reaches its own incredibly iconic cliffhanger ending. The most prominent special effect is an utterly seamless 'acting opposite yourself' sort of thing, which still puts similar efforts to shame. Though the movie is known as "the one where they go to the future", it doesn't really get going until it dives into a deliciously devilish alternate 1985. Here, the time-continuum conundrums really start to begin and they are an absolute blast. It's probably closer to what you think of as a time-travel narrative than the more one-off, 'what-if?' story of the first. A lot of that is because this is pretty much the pioneer of most tropes associated with the genre. It's all incredibly well-conceived. For every line of near ham-fisted fan service, the flick gracefully pulls off a beautiful bit of foreshadowing or drops your jaw with a self-eating snake scenario. It's never indulgent, yet knows exactly what it needs to be. It's thoroughly enjoyable and is easily among the best sequels of all time. 10/10