MOVIES I LOVE: BACK TO THE FUTURE PART 2

"You did send me back to the future but I'm back, I'm back FROM the future."

Back To The Future may be the best film in the trilogy, but Back To The Future Part 2 will ALWAYS be my personal favorite. It was the film I watched the most when I was younger, and I can quote the movie pretty much line for line. It's one of the rare films where it's one classic scene and line after another. It's absolutely unforgettable.

This sequel is every bit as great as its predecessor. Back To The Future Part 2 is not so much concerned with themes of parent/child relations or having to know where you came from to know where you're going, making the wise choice to place the emphasis on time travel, that bad-ass flying Delorean, the mechanics of time travel, and pure adrenaline filled fun.

Back to The Future Part 2 picks up immediately where the first film left off, with Marty, Doc Brown, and Jennifer traveling into the future to fix a few things. While there, Marty picks up a Sports Almanac with the intent of making a few easy bucks when he gets back. Naturally, the Doc is furious when he finds this out and makes Marty leave it behind. During an unscheduled trip to Marty's future home, Old Biff steals the Almanac and the Delorean, traveling back to 1955 and leaving the Almanac in the hands of Young Biff, after which Old Biff returns to the future. With  1985 and beyond now altered into a true nightmarish state where Present Biff rules over Hill Valley and crime is rampant, Doc and Marty have to travel back to 1955 one last time to set things right.

One of the most famous parts of Back To The Future Part 2 is the beginning 2015 segment. This is where we are introduced to such nifty futuristic inventions like self-lacing Nike's and Hoverboards, both of which STILL HAVEN'T BEEN CREATED YET!!!! WHY???!!!!!!! It's surprising how much this future segment accurately predicted, from nostalgia for the 80's to even more-or-less Skype! It saddens me to think we are only two years away from 2015 now, and yet we still don't have flying time traveling Deloreans, Nike Air Mags (a fake product bearing the same name was released a few years ago, but they didn't self-lace so what the hell was the point?!), or Mattel Hoverboards (as with the Air Mags, Mattel did release movie accurate replica Hoverboards, but they didn't hover or even glide all that well so....WHAT THE HELL WAS THE POINT?!). Here's a note to all the current scientists out there right now: GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER AND MAKE US SOME OF THESE AWESOME PRODUCTS, LIKE NOW!

The nightmare 1985 segment is pretty neat, and the return to 1955 is cool as characters have to re-visit classic scenes from the first film without running into the past version of themselves or altering past events (because if the past selves saw the future selves it could lead to the end of the Universe as we know it, and if past events are altered past Marty would never get to travel back to 1955 and that in itself would cause a negative chain of reactions as well). Also, I love the final scene (as I'm sure you can tell by my carefully chosen quote at the beginning of this review). It's easily one of my top 5 favorite endings in film because it's so damn perfect and awesome, and it always gets me super pumped every time I watch it (although Part 3 is admittedly nowhere near as great as parts 1 and 2).

Now, as promised, let's take a look at that nifty flying time traveling Delorean. In Part 2, the Delorean can fly and naturally this comes in handy quite a lot. The Delorean is no longer relegated to the back seat, getting its chance to finally shine and become it's very own character. Yes, it has a huge part to play here and the way it's arc finally comes to an end in Part 3 absolutely breaks me into a million tiny pieces. It's undoubtedly the most iconic and coolest car in film, and for very good reason.

Back To The Future Part 2 is significantly darker than it's predecessor, and there's nothing wrong with that (what, did you really want a carbon copy of the first film? Didn't think so). There's still  A LOT at stake here (Marty's future isn't the only thing on the line here....but the future of Doc, Hill Valley, and much much more....the stakes have been upped). New character arcs are also introduced here that aren't fully completed until a whole film later, and neat little character touches have been added.

I've never been able to understand why so many people have shunned Part 2. I've seen it quite literally millions of times and I always find something new to enjoy here, whether it's the original and creative story structure, the darker tone, or the choice to focus more so on fun and adventure this time around. No matter how you cut it, Back To The Future Part 2 is a thrilling and exciting time travel epic that is worth several hundred repeat viewings. It never gets old.

5 STARS- BETTER THAN SEX