Guest Review: Back to the Future Part II (1989)

By ScottDS
Ah, there’s nothing like the Back to the Future trilogy. These films are staples of my childhood and I still watch them every couple of months. Funnily enough, I originally saw them in reverse order but by the time I got to the first film, everything made sense. While the original 1985 film is rightfully considered a modern masterpiece – the perfect alchemy of characterization, smart writing, and summer spectacle – the sequels continue to get a mixed reaction. Some folks love the second film and hate the third and vice versa. Me? I love ’em both... but I give a slight edge to Part II.

We pick up with Marty (Michael J. Fox) and Jennifer (Elizabeth Shue replacing Claudia Wells) about to share a kiss when Doc (Christopher Lloyd) suddenly pulls up in the DeLorean. Clad in a futuristic raincoat and transparent necktie (which I love), Doc tells the two lovebirds that the future of their future family is at stake: “It’s your kids, Marty!” The car takes off to the rainy skies of 2015 where it turns out that Marty Jr. will get involved with some local thugs led by Griff (Thomas F. Wilson), the cybernetically-enhanced grandson of Marty’s nemesis Biff. This event will cause a chain reaction that will destroy the McFly family, so Marty takes the place of his future son so he can refuse Griff’s invitation. After an exciting hoverboard chase (sorry, they’re not real!), Marty purchases a copy of Gray’s Sports Almanac, which includes sports scores for the latter half of the twentieth century. He intends to place a few bets but Doc is horrified by this, explaining that the purpose of time travel is not to win at gambling. Meanwhile, the police have picked up Jennifer (who was left by Doc and Marty, unconscious, in an alley) and take her home – her future home. Marty and Doc pursue, but Old Biff gets his hands on the almanac (which Doc had thrown out) and follows them.

Doc and Marty eventually pick up Jennifer, who’d fainted after encountering her future self. They make it back to 1985 but some things have changed. The neighborhood looks like a demilitarized zone, a different family lives in the McFly house, and there’s now a gaudy skyscraper in the middle of town, owned by Biff! We learn that Marty’s dad is dead and his mother (Lea Thompson) is married to Biff - now a corrupt multimillionaire - instead. Doc realizes that Old Biff must’ve stolen the DeLorean while they were rescuing Jennifer in the future and given the almanac to himself at some point in the past: November 12th, 1955 to be exact – the date that Marty went back to the future in the first film. They travel back to 1955 where Marty eventually trails Biff to the school dance. After several run-ins with Biff, Biff’s goons, and a car/hoverboard chase, Marty destroys the almanac, causing the future to return to normal. However, the DeLorean is struck by lightning, zapping Doc back to 1885. After a Western Union man (Joe Flaherty in a fun cameo) shows up with a telegram – written by Doc in the past – Marty realizes there’s only one man who can help him: 1955 Doc. “To Be Concluded...”

Man, that was confusing to write! You can't imagine how confused I was after watching this film. I had just seen the third film yet it didn’t occur to me to rent the first film and work my way forwards. Instead, I rented this film and worked my way backwards. I’ve always been a fan. I love what they came up with for 2015, from flying cars to hoverboards to some of the more ridiculous fashions. God, 2015 seems so close now, doesn’t it? Of course, some of it is pretty dated now, too. The movie is a lot of fun just like a good 80s summer movie should be, though it’s also very dark. The alternate 1985 scenes almost come across as something shot for another film entirely. Director Robert Zemeckis rightfully compares this film to It’s a Wonderful Life and alternate 1985 to Pottersville. Oh, and I love the central gimmick: the idea of going back and revisiting the first film from a new perspective. I imagine it takes most people a few viewings to soak it all in and get all the subtle connections. ILM’s Oscar-nominated visual effects are 98% top-notch, along with the other various technical details. Christopher Lloyd is excellent as usual and both Michael J. Fox and Lea Thompson (mostly) do a good job playing various generations of their characters. Tom Wilson gives an absolute tour-de-force performance as alternate 1985 Biff, who’s just a total psychopath.

[Sigh] However, the film is definitely flawed, and repeat viewings haven’t helped one bit. When I said Fox and Thompson mostly do a good job, I meant that their acting in 1955/1985 is fine but 2015 is a different story. Fox plays future Marty (who’s only in his late 40s) like he’s at least twenty years older and Thompson does the same with old Lorraine. The make-up effects guys, who did such a great job on the first film, don’t help them – the old-age make-up is cranked up to 11 and it just becomes a distraction. Then there are the usual plot holes inherent to any time travel story. I could go on ad infinitum but the few issues that have always stuck with me are: 1.) When Old Biff comes back to 2015 with the DeLorean, shouldn’t it be an alternate 2015? (The filmmakers speculate that the infamous “ripple effect” may not have happened yet.) 2.) When Marty and Doc leave 2015 for 1985, they don’t notice that the “last time departed” display on the time circuits reads 1955. 3.) All of a sudden, the time circuits are malfunctioning, causing the 1885 date to appear out of nowhere. There are several deux ex machina moments, not to mention Marty goes from smart to stupid to smart again, sometimes in the span of one scene.

To be fair, the development and production of this film was quite hectic. The ending of the first film was done as a joke – there was never a sequel planned, and the words “To Be Continued” were added for subsequent video releases. After all, says Robert Zemeckis, if they’d planned for a sequel, they never would’ve put Jennifer in the car! The original idea involved Marty and Doc going back to the 60s where Marty endangers his own conception. There would be hippies and flower power and protests, etc. However, this idea felt like too much of a retread and Zemeckis and co-writer/producer Bob Gale hit upon the idea of going back to the first film, which is what really sets this film apart in my opinion. I can’t even begin to imagine the logistical nightmare this entailed, from recreating sets and wardrobe, to scheduling and continuity. This film was originally written as one long movie with a fourth act set in 1885 but the studio took the bold move (now commonplace) to split it in half and shoot two movies simultaneously.

However, this leads me to what I think is the film’s biggest problem: Marty’s Achilles’ heal. Apparently, he hates it whenever people call him “chicken.” Fair enough, but since a sequel was never planned, the filmmakers never thought to set this up in the first film… and since this film ends on a cliffhanger, it doesn’t get resolved until the next film. In 2015, we meet future Marty’s boss (played by Flea of all people, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers), who involves Marty in some kind of shady business deal. None of this works on its own and it’s not until the last five minutes of the third film when it’s all resolved. The problem that Gale and Zemeckis faced was this: in the first film, Marty doesn’t change – his dad does. For the sequel, Marty would have to change, but it’s introduced in a somewhat awkward fashion, and if it wasn’t for this whole “chicken” thing, the movie could’ve been wrapped up in 20 minutes! Speaking of Marty’s dad, the reason why he doesn’t play a more prominent role in this film is because a deal with Crispin Glover couldn’t be made. That’s actor Jeffrey Weissman as future George McFly, where the make-up (and futuristic upside-down back brace) help disguise him.

At the end of the day, I find this film endlessly fascinating. Even now, there are so many little details to pick up on. The Café 80s scene in 2015 is pretty fun with the Max Headroom-style “Ronald Reagan” and “Ayatollah” video waiters and a young Elijah Wood (in his film debut!) who’s disappointed that an arcade game requires actual tactile contact. A few of the split-screen shots with multiple actors don’t hold up but many of them do, including a dinner table scene with Michael J. Fox playing three roles. Robert Zemeckis says this might be his most interesting movie and I’m inclined to agree. I look forward to showing these films to my future kid(s) – they still manage to hold up after all these years, and that’s the true test of any film’s success. “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”

(Ironically, I had intended to review both II and III in one article but the first part got too long, so, just like the filmmakers did, I’m splitting this in two. Find out why I prefer this film to the third one on Friday.)

To Be Concluded...