Back To The Future, Part II (1989)

Doc Brown’s time machine works its magic once more in this merry sequel to Back To The Future.

Barely back to 1985 after his original jaunt, Marty McFly (Michael J Fox, pictured above) is whisked forward to 2015, along with his girlfriend Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue), by eccentric scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd).

Marty’s mission this time is to prevent a crime involving his teenage son before he disgraces the whole McFly family. And so the trio time travels thirty years into the future to a Hill Valley of flying cars, hover boards, holomax movies and 1980s nostalgia. There, Marty must save his son from a future in jail, a future caused by Biff Tannen’s son, Griff (Thomas Wilson).

With the future restored, Marty purchases a Sports Almanac from the Café 80s, realising that it features all the winning teams from 1950 to the year 2000 and he can get rich betting on them.

Doc stops Marty from taking this road of greed and cheating, but elderly Biff has overheard the plan, and takes the DeLorean back in time to 1955, so his younger self can execute it.

Marty, Doc and Jennifer return to 1985 in the returned DeLorean, only to learn that elderly Biff has changed everything. George McFly is long dead (murdered by Biff) and Lorraine (Lea Thompson) is married to the scoundrel. Biff controls the police force and has turned Hill Valley into a den of gambling and sin.

Doc and Marty decide they must travel back to 1955 again and prevent Biff from using the Sports Almanac that can change everybody’s future.

The cast and special effects are good, but the complex script is too clever for its own good and the film gets bogged down by trying to cram in too many ideas and settings (past, future, alternative universes). It certainly helps to have seen the original.

A third and final Back To The Future sequel followed in 1990.

Marty McFly/Marty McFly Jr/Marlene McFly
Michael J Fox
Dr Emmett Brown
Christopher Lloyd
Lorraine
Lea Thompson
Biff Tannen/Griff Tannen
Thomas F Wilson
Marvin Berry
Harry Waters Jr
Terry
Charles Fleischer
Jennifer
Elisabeth Shue
Strickland
James Tolkan
George McFly
Jeffrey Weissman
3-D
Casey Siemaszko
Match
Billy Zane
Skinhead
J J Cohen
Ronald Reagan
Jay Koch

Director
Robert Zemeckis

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