Viewed in
2009
Premise
Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) go into the future to keep McFly's kids out of jail, but sets off a chain event that allows Biff to rule the town in 1985.
Who should watch
Fans of the first film.
Thoughts
It was a pretty good film, but I should have mentally prepared myself of the inevitable sequel letdown.
At first, I thought this took place entirely in 2015. Little did I expect a mind-boggling third act. It's kind of a spoiler, but Marty and Doc eventually return to 1955, and are forced to save the future without ruining what they accomplished from the first film. The hilarious and well-choreographed dance between the characters from both time lines was a stroke of mad genius.
Another thing I liked was that the film truly showed the consequences of time-travel, which was illustrated by 2015 Biff destroying 1985. Also, some of the actors playing older/younger versions of themselves/relatives was amusing.
However, as a standalone movie, it was sub-par, mainly because of the first act. When characters repeat the same actions in the past, it's funny, but when they repeat it in the future, it feels like a re-run.
Unlike the first film, this one was heavily dependent on special effects, and the lack of quality stood out like a sore thumb. Add the fact that the writing felt dated due to inaccurate predictions of the future, the first act was just plain distracting and boring. Even the excuse to bring Marty into the future was lame.
While I understood that it was meant to set up for the last film, the whole 'Are you chicken' theme was annoying. Mainly because it came out of nowhere, and felt uncharacteristic of Marty.
Basically, I hated the beginning, loved the ending, but overall felt disappointed that it took two hours to set things up for the third film.
What I would change
Rewritten the first act by figuring a better reason for Marty and Doc to go into the future and taken out the useless chase scene.
