Back To The Future Part 2
Sequels are usually by definition inferior to their originals (with some notable exceptions), but manage to get themselves by at least attempting to recapture SOME of the magic and awe of their predecessors, usually with mixed results depending on certain elements like the passion of the filmmakers involved, the quality of the script and story, and the availability of the returning actors. Some just continue the story outright with the same characters basically continuing on their various quests. When Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale wrote (with Zemeckis directing) the original Back To The Future in 1985, they made a point of including a rather goofy âcliffhangerâ ending even though their openly stated intention at the time was that they never had any plans to come up with a sequel at all and that the way that the movie had ended was really just meant to be nothing more than a funny gag. But when the movie became a bona fide blockbuster, the studio immediately started making arrangements for a follow up, resulting in Zemeckis and Gale becoming a little wary, as Part 1 ostensibly had been a science fiction time travel story with an extremely strong heart at its core, a humanistic tale of a young man coming to understand his own parents even better by coming to know them when they were teenagers themselves. Zemeckis and Gale quickly realized that in order for the new film to work, they had to drop much of the straight up dramatic / emotional elements and instead go for a more gimmicky, faster paced, science fiction comedy where much of the storyâs dynamics revolved completely around the ideas of what would happen if the implied pitfalls of actual time travel were to come completely true and entire timelines of the world were changed to something possibly less appealing. This approach was actually made easier when all of the principal actors from the original signed on to reprise their roles without ever seeing the script with the exception of one: Crispin Glover, considered by many to have been the true heart of the first film as George McFly, outright demanded a $1 million dollar payday AND to have final script approval before agreeing to come back, a rather insane stipulation from a supporting player who had reportedly been displeased with the ending of the first film. Obviously, he was turned down, had his part pared down to almost nothing (basically a 2 minute cameo by a replacement actor made to look older by aging makeup and the use of stock footage which resulted in a lawsuit on his part for his image being used without his permission), and was even said in an alternate timeline to have had his character killed along with being dead and buried. But where Gloverâs participation was removed from the equation, another returning actor wound up being directly in the spotlight, as Thomas F. Wilsonâs Biff Tannen moved up from once having been a threatening bully who was integral to the story of the first film to now being an all purpose supervillain of the franchise, just as before a boorish, self loathing misanthrope who finds himself handed the keys to the universe in his very own lap and turning out to be just as much of a miserable, disgusting son of a bitch now with money and power as he was before having it. Even more interesting is the subtle notion that Zemeckis and Gale put forth that besides emphasizing the wilder and wackier extremes of time travel gone wrong, they also seem to be making a sly commentary on the rehashed and redone elements of sequels themselves, obviously and successfully recreating many of the key moments and motifs of the first film that both outright make it clear that not only is it absolutely necessary to have watched the first film in order to understand at least some of what is going on here, but also acknowledging the debt owed to the first film and many of its most memorable moments by being fully self aware of the homages being paid to it here. The film literally begins with an almost exactly reshot version of the previous filmâs final âcliffhangerâ scene with Christopher Lloydâs Doc Brown reappearing to tell Michael J. Foxâs Marty McFly that he needs to come back to 2015 with him in order to take care of a pressing problem, along with Elisabeth Shue now in the recast role of Martyâs girlfriend Jennifer (a very shaky casting decision to say the least, but unavoidable due to the original actress not being available for filming). Turns out that the âcrisisâ he alluded to is actually rather easily solved, but at least for a few minutes we get to witness Zemeckis and Galeâs (not entirely accurate) view of a futuristic 2015 (ironic since the movie came out in 1989 and that 2015 has now past) complete with hoverboards, flying cars, ridiculous amounts of inflation, and best of all, an extremely weird âCafĂ© 80sâ establishment featuring arcade games, exercise bikes, and bizarre âwaitersâ on TV screens impersonating people like Michael Jackson and Ronald Reagan. But a BIG problem emerges from all this: McFly has purchased a detailed sports almanac from a local store, hoping to make a little side money by placing some bets on sporting events where he would know the outcomes before they happen, leading to a very old Biff Tannen stealing both that and The DeLorean and zooming back to 1955 to give his younger self the book with that very same idea in mind, so when Marty and Doc return âhomeâ to 1985, they now find themselves in a very different timeline that is actually much more interesting than the much ballyhooed recreation of 2015. Their own world has now become a very different place, a society seemingly built around total anarchy with crime ridden streets, the schools all destroyed or burned down, and even James Tolkanâs former principal Strickland constantly fighting for his life from persistent drive by shootings which seem to be engineered by disgruntled former students of his. A hellish and immensely fascinating environment where a middle aged Biff is considered to be âthe luckiest man in the worldâ, having acquired a massive fortune almost completely off of successful sports gambling and is now so rich himself that he is practically above the law (and even has his three goon friends from high school still at his side played by Billy Zane, J.J. Cohen, and Casey Siemaszko). Even worse, he has now married his âhigh school sweetheartâ, Martyâs mother Lorraine (Lea Thompson) after successfully putting poor old George McFly in his grave with no retribution whatsoever, and Lorraine has now taken on the (sadly all too common in real life) resignation of being married to an abusive lout who also mistreats her children simply because of the fact that he has money and that âhe takes care of all of usâ. The only way to fix things is for Doc and Marty to travel back to the EXACT same day in 1955 that the first film took place in and intercept the cursed sports almanac from Biff after his older alter ego has already given it to him. And here is where the filmâs subversive statement on sequels kicks into full surrealistic overdrive, as it turns out that Marty and Doc actually have to find themselves literally working around the events of the ORIGINAL film (without being detected) in order to carry out their current mission at hand. It is also where we see Wilsonâs Old Biff turn out to be a truly sinister, calculating (and cynical) mastermind as he carries out his plan to pass the almanac onto his younger self, and we even get a little more of his Young Biff from the first film still doing his insecure, tough talking routine to great effect, leading up to a conclusion with him that is as ironic as it is satisfying especially for the many fans of the first film. The fact that the film eschews many of the more sweet, emotional moments from its predecessor in favor of its own comedically chaotic, sci fi rhythms both separates it and lessens it from that previous film, but Fox and Lloyd are both still in fine form here using their chemistry and playing off each other to a tee, while Thompson takes on the role of being the character who is only there when the plot requires her to be, and Thomas Wilson takes the irritating villainy of Biff to a grand new level, successfully showing that even with the great wealth that he has attained that he is still little more than just a simple minded, bullying thug, and the cliffhanger ending that ends this first of back to back sequels (which even features entire plot setups for Part 3) solidify this as being one of the most satisfying âmiddle entriesâ for any trilogy in cinematic history, an example of a movie that is little more than a pure sequel with absolutely no regrets whatsoever for being exactly that which it proudly isâŠ
9/10