Right so now onto the second part of my blog entries on the Back to the Future trilogy, which will cover Back to the Future Part II (and why not?!) the sequel to the hugely successful first film. So let's give it a look and see how it fares next to the original...
So the story begins right off after the end of the first film, where Marty (Michael J. Fox) now having made it back to 1985 and having successfully altered the timeline to get his parents back together. And the next morning, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) arrives in his Dolorean time machine and warns Marty that he needs to come with him to the future as there is something seriously wrong with in the future with his kids. Marty travels with the Doc, along with his girlfriend Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue) into the future in the year 2015, where the Doc tells Marty that he needs him to pose as his future son, Marty Jr (also Fox) in order to prevent his son from being involved in a robbery with Biff Tannen's grandson, Griff (also played by Thomas F. Wilson) which would eventually lead to his family's breakdown. Marty meets with Griff and turns down his involvement in the robbery, when Griff taunts him about being a chicken, Marty loses it and the two of them fight, with Marty fleeing in the same style as he did in the first film when the young Biff chased him. In the ensuing chase Marty manages to outwit Griff and his gang who end up being arrested by the police after crashing into the town courthouse. With Griff and his gang now arrested, Marty's future is now safe.
Marty however unwittingly complicates things when he a buys a sports alamac in a memorobilia shop, and the book itself contains the result of every major sporting event between 1950 and 2000. Marty however is soon caught out by the Doc, who warns him of the consequences of tampering with time and using the book would be very dangerous and convinces to dump in the trash, but Biff Tannen, now an elderly man in future, overhears their conversation and he ends up taking the discarded book. Biff then follows Marty and Doc to a housing complex where the police have taken Jennifer to her home in the future, who was rendered unconscious by the Doc earlier. Jennifer wakes up in her future home and hides just as she sees her future daughter (played by Fox!) and Marty's mother and Jennifer's future mother in law, Lorraine (Lea Thompson) arrive. Later on the future Marty, now aged 47, arrives home as well and he is soon persuaded into a shady business deal along with a business colleague of his, Needles (played by Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers). However Marty's supervisor having overheard the transmission calls up Marty and has him fired as a result. Jennifer eventually sneaks out the house but encounters her future self on the way out and they both pass out in shock at seeing each other, which let's the Doc take the young Jennifer back.
However in the meantime, the old Biff has stolen the Doc's time machine, but he arrives back just before the Doc and Marty reappear with Jennifer. When Marty and Doc arrive back in 1985, they drop off Jennifer at her home, and when Marty goes to his he finds the front door padlocked and he ends up going through his bedroom window only to find the house is now owned by a black family who chase him out. Marty soon realises something has gone awfully wrong in that Hill Valley has now been turned into chaos, and he stumbles upon finding that Biff, aged 47, is now wealthy and corrupt, and married to his mother, with his father George having died back in 1973. Marty meets up again with Doc who explains that the old Biff somehow managed to steal the time machine and travel back in time and gave the sports almanac to his younger self at some point in order for him to become wealthy. And in order for them to put things right again, they must find out where and when the old Biff went with the sports almanac. Marty then goes back to confront the Biff of 1985, who tells him he got the book from an old man back in November 12, 1955, and that the old Biff told him to kill anyone who tries to find out about the book, which leads Biff to try and kill Marty. Marty however soon manages to escape from Biff, who also admits to killing Marty's father, George, as the Doc arrives with the DeLorean up on the top of Biff's hotel, who knocks out Biff by opening the car door on his face. From here Marty and Doc travel back to 1955 where they must try and find a way to succeed in saving the future from falling into the hands of Biff Tannen.
As a sequel to the original, BTTF Part II is a very entertaining follow up and I would have to actually say it would be my second personal favourite of the three films. In Part II the plot is more convoluted but its also far more involving in that regard as well, as both Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale have created another very funny, witty and above all intelligent script which pokes fun at the themes of the first film and how even the Doc and Marty have to carefully tread around the timelines they have created in the different times. It also clevely recreates some of the scenarios of the first film such as Marty chasing Griff and his crew, in a similar way to the first when he chased Biff, as well as how Marty must sneak around his other self when he is at the Enchantment under the sea dance. Part II and III were also both shot back to back throughout 1989 so their release naturally followed one after the other with Part II in 1989 and III in 1990.
And while the film is a bit silly in its depiction of the future in some ways, in others it is actually spot on such as its take on technological advances. As a few examples in the film in the future Marty plays an old one armed bandit video game, with a handgun, where some young kids look on incredilously at how it involves having to use your hands, and now we have the Microsoft Kinect system used with the Xbox, which no longer requires a game pad. Other accurate predictions made shown in the film are the use of digital flat panel TVs, which we see in the scene in Marty's future home, where his son sits and watches 6 channels all at the same time, and also video internet chatting is displayed where Marty Sr talks with Needles over the shady business proposal. So in these regards Part II really was ahead of its time in its thinking and just maybe Zemeckis and Gale knew something we didn't! ;-)
Performance wise Part II is pretty good and the regular cast are all on form once again, with Michael J. Fox great once more as the young (and old!) Marty, who is thrown into sorting out his own future at the Doc's behest. Fox has several highlights in the film, especially in the scenes where we get to see him play his incompetent future son and also even his future daughter, as they are both so ridiculous! Fox as Marty's son also get's a hilarious moment where he meets with the young bully, Griff, who asks him if he is in or our for the robbery and Marty says "I don't know I think I should ask my father!". Also as Marty Jr, Fox uses a a line from Midnight Cowboy as a he walks onto the road a car toots its horn at him he shouts "Hey! I'm walking here!". Fox also has some fun with the character of Marty where he has to go back in time to 1955 and try and avoid coming into contact with his other self from that time at the school dance, when he is spotted by Biff's gang, he climbs up over the stage lighting rig above where his 1955 counterpart is playing guitar, and he drops sandbags onto Biff's gang, after this, Marty's other self moves behind the stage and looks confused at the unconscious bodies of the gang. This also leads into a funny scene where the young Biff taunts Marty and calls him a chicken, where Marty angrily turns to him and says "Nobody ever calls me chick....!" and his other self opens the door in Marty's face, knocking Marty sideways to the ground! Fox also has another funny moment where he wakes up in Biff's hotel room and he is comforted by his mum, who has had a breast enlargement done, and he says "But mom you're so... you're so.... big!". As the middle aged Marty, Fox has some funny moments where his elderly mother, Lorraine, makes dinner for them by taking a tiny frozen pizza which is placed in a special hydration microwave and she takes it out a few seconds later and its turned into a massive pizza. And as Lorraine serves it up Marty says "Oh maw, you sure know how to hydrate a pizza!". Also in the scene where the middle aged Marty talks to his co-worker Needles, who taunts him by calling him a chicken, he says "nobody calls me chicken, Needles! Nobody!!". This of course proves to be a running theme in Parts II and III where Marty reacts angrily to being called a chicken, which ultimately plays a key part in his future.
Christopher Lloyd is also great again as Doc Brown, and he has a gallon of lines to deliver, which he does in his own inimitable way at a frantic pace, with great energy. Lloyd has many highlights in the film and great dialogue, such as when they arrive in the future and after the Doc parks the DeLorean, the rain is still on and he looks at his watch and waits a few seconds then the rain goes off, "Right on the tick. Too bad the post office in the future isn't as efficient as the weather service!". And also a bit later on when the Doc warns Marty about young Griff "Oh and watch out for that Griff character, Marty. He's got a few short circuits in his bionic implants!". And on the revelation that Jennifer has been taken by the police, possibly back to her future home, he says the consequences could be disastrous: "I foresee two possibilities. One coming face to face with herself put her into shock and she'd simply pass out. Or two, the encounter could create a paradox, which would unravel the fabric of the space contium and destroy the universe! Granted that is the worst case scenario. The destruction might in fact might be localised, limited to merely our own galaxy!" which prompts "Well that's a relief!" from Marty. Lloyd also has a nice little scene where he accidentally bumps into himself from the past in 1955 when he encounters his other self set up the experiment for Marty to get back to 1985. And the Doc's other self asks for a wrench on a toolbox, which the Doc hands to him without looking and they talk about the weather quickly, and the Doc's other self says "Nice talkin to you. Maybe we might bump into each other again in the future." and the Doc slowly walks away saying "Or maybe the past!".
Thomas F. Wilson this time has a meatier role as Biff, and he does a great job in playing both the young, middle-aged and elderly Biff Tannen (as well as Grff!), with the middle aged one proving the most dangerous and villainous. Wilson has plenty of good moments himself, such as in the scene where the young Biff tries to woo Lorraine back in 1955 and he grabs her and says "When are you gonna get it into your thick skull, Lorraine, you're my girl!" and she tells him she would never be his girl, even if he had a million dollars, and she clubs him with the box for her dress and runs away. And Biff runs after her yelling "Yes you will! Its you and me, Lorraine! Its meant to be! I'm gonna marry you someday, Lorraine. Some day you will be my wife!!". Later on Wilson has a fun scene when his older self and younger self meet in 1955 and the old Biff gives the young one the Almanac and the young Biff says "Thank you so much, now why don't you make like a tree and get out of here" and the old Biff smacks him on the head and says "Leave! Make like a tree and leave! You sound like a damn fool when you get it wrong!". And the middle aged Biff also has some good lines such as when he first storms into his hotel room and finds Marty there and shouts at him "You're supposed to be in Switzerland you little son of a bitch!". Wilson has some funny moments as Griff, Biff's young grandson, such as when he meets Marty, after having subdued the younger Marty Jr, Marty pushes him back and Griff says "Well! Since when did you become the physical type?!". and as Marty says no to Griff's proposition, Griff says "What's wrong, McFly?? Chicken???" and one of his gang plays the sound of a chicken.
Lea Thompson is also really good again in her role as Lorraine, who also has fun in playing the young, middle aged and elderly Lorraine. Although her eldlerly take on Lorraine is a bit of comical and its really the middle aged Lorraine that lends a bit more gravitas to her performance as a woman forced into a loveless marriage. Lea does also get something good lines in her role as Lorraine, particularly in her middle aged role as Biff threatens to cut off her money and he says "who's gonna pay for your cosmetic surgery, Lorraine?!" and she turns and says "You're the one that wanted me to get those things! You wan't em back? You can have them!". Also in the scene where she parks with Marty in the car before the school dance, she says to Marty in the car "When I have kids one day they can have anything, anything they want" and he quitely says "I'd like to have that in writing!".
In the supporting cast, Elisabeth Shue does a good job at filling in for Claudia Wells, who was in the first film but was unable to continue due to personal circumstances with her family. Elisabeth although ultimately has a rather small role, but her best scene comes when she comes face to face with her future self and they both look at each other and screams out "I'm old/I'm young!" at one another before passing out. And in the scene prior to that, while in her future house she sees a cheesy wedding picture of her and Marty which says "Chapel o Love" and she says "I get married in the Chapel o Love??? I gotta get out of here!". James Tolkan reprises his role as Mr Strickland and he is hilarious in this film as he is given a slightly bigger role and some great dialogue. Tolkan's best scene is in the alternate 1985 where he encounters Marty on his porch and he is armed with a shotgun and he says to Marty who tells he gave him detention just last week "The school burned down six years ago. Now you've got exactly three seconds to get off my porch with your nuts in tact!". After this a gang do a drive-by shooting on his house and Strickland runs after them shouting "Eat lead, slackers!!!". And in a later scene, back in 1955, Tolkan has another fun scene as Strickland, when he catches out the young Biff reading what appears to be the sports almanac, and he snatches it off him and says "You've got a real attitude problem, Tannen, you know that? And one day I will get you where I want you: in detention! SLACKER!!". And lastly there are some amusing brief roles from future actors such as Billy Zane, who plays a part of Biff's gang in 1955, Jason Scott-Lee who plays one of Griff's gang in the future, and Flea from the RHCP, who actually provides a good albeit brief performance as Needles, who taunts McFly by trying to get him involved in a dodgy business deal.
Also a last last last note, Crispin Glover did not reprise his role as George McFly though, as it was reported that he was not happy with the salary Zemeckis offered him for his return to the role and that the other actors got more than he did. So instead they cast Jeffrey Weissman to take over the role and they used a series of prosphetics such as a false chin and nose, as well as sunglasses to cover his eyes. Glover later as a result was not happy with the likeness of him in the film and he even filed a lawsuit against Zemeckis for the unlawful use of his image on screen, which lead to the creation of clauses in the Screen Actors Guild that prohibited the usage of methods to create the likeness of another actor.
Moving finally away from the performances onto the direction side of things, and Robert Zemeckis does another fine job here with Part II as he get's a bit more ambitious with the scope of the story, shifting between three different time periods, it allows for a change in the dynamics of the film as well. Zemeckis also makes good use of an at that time new technique in film making called digital compositing, as well as the Vista Glide camera control system, which is put to use in the scene where Michael is seen playing the three different versions of himself on screen at the same time, as well as the scenes where the older Biff meets his younger self. Alan Silvestri also reprises his duties as the film composer and he produces another good effort for Part II with some of Silvestri's usual rising passages of music until they hit a crescendo being put to use again.
So the flaws.... does Part II have any??? Well yes it does have one or two, for starters one of the things that might threaten to put off an audience about Part II is its somewhat intircate plot and perhaps there is too much to-ing and frowing going on. However for me that is part of the appeal of the film in that it makes you think about what the consequences of each action taken of Marty and Doc's time travels, but its somewhat convoluted story is probably what generally makes this the least favourite of the three films in the public's eyes. Another thing that does hinder the film somewhat is the poor effects make-up for Michael J. Fox and Elisabeth Shue as they both look pretty unconvincing as 47 year olds in the film and it always struck me as one of the weaker aspects of the film's otherwise excellent production. And it has to be said that some of the future scenes, especially the ones in Marty's future home feel a little bit too comical and superflous to the story, in which the only real relevant details are that Marty had an accident which changed his life and that he got fired from his job, but apart from that once Marty has stopped his son from going to jail and Biff stealing the time machine, you feel everything after that is a bit padded until we get to 1985.
Also a rather curious moment in the film is when the old Biff returns to the future after having stolen the time machine, he emerges from the time machine looking strained and in great pain as he pulls his cane out of the car and accidentally thwacks himself in the gut with it. This scene doesn't really make a whole lote of sense as to why Biff looked to be in pain, and the only thing I can think is that the changes he made in the past by giving the Almanac to his younger self probably had other consequences in the future and maybe the older Biff would cease to be as a result once he arrived back in 2015. And there was actually a deleted scene which was put in the DVD where we see Biff collapse and vanish, which would probably back this up. But in the context of the released version of the film whatever the reason, it is left unexplained and it remains the film's main plot hole.
But all that aside Back to the Future Part II is a very enjoyable and credible sequel to the first film and it is funny, intelligent and if you haven't seen in quite a while its well worth checking out again.
So next up is Part III......
Bye!
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