Monday Sequel Spotlight: Back to the Future Part II

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. In this series, I’ll be taking a look at some famous (and infamous) sequels to see how they compare to the original. I'll do my best to alternate between the greats and the best forgotten. Leave your thoughts or a suggestion for a spotlight in the comments!

Back to the Future Part II
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Released November 22, 1989



Some film series don’t have a bad installment. And some don’t have an agreed-upon best film in the set. Many will argue that the purity of the first “Back to the Future” with its highly original, exciting, very 1980s feel is the greatest film in the trilogy. I would posit, however, that “Back to the Future Part II” takes it one step further, preserving the comic and sci-fi elements that worked from installment number one and transforming them for the three time periods that Marty visits. The future, with its hoverboards and 3-D glasses, is intriguing, while the alternate present is horrifying and the 1955 past is just as familiar, but more interesting this time around since we’ve already been there to see how things played out. Whereas Marty was on his own in the first film, it’s fun to have Doc with him this time around, explaining him to him how things work in the future and then nervously avoiding his younger self when they’re in 1955. Most prominent in my memory is Marty and his multiple wakeups, always being told that he’s safe and sound, be it in 2015 or on the 27th floor. This film is cleverest for its last few scenes, in which it gloriously closes out this installment and sets up number three, back in the wild, wild West. This trailer doesn't quite do the film justice, emphasizing its campy elements more than anything, but what a blast!