#23- Back To The Future Part II (1989)

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Who's List Was This On
- The 'Bright' One- #1
TOTAL VOTES RECEIVED: 25

Directed By: Robert Zemeckis
Written By: Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Thomas Wilson


The Plot

Marty McFly (Fox) and Doc Brown (Lloyd) go back to the future where Biff (Wilson) sneaks along, steals a sports almanac from the future, goes back to meet himself in the 1950's to give his past self the future almanac so that his past self can get rich by betting on sporting events. This creates an alternate timeline in which Biff rules and creates chaos. Marty and Doc Brown must go back to the 1950's to stop past Biff from getting a hold of the almanac.

Why This Movie Is Great

This was TBO's #1 selection and I wanted everybody to write a post on their #1 selection. I asked TBO to do the same and he responded with "I don't do movie reviews". I asked him to just write a few paragraphs on why he likes this movie and he responded with "Because it makes me happy." Therefore, I will write the review for this movie- which also means my own personal opinion will be interjected throughout the analysis.

If I were doing a list of the 100 greatest movies of the past twenty five years I don't think I would include Back to the Future Part II. The first movie was excellent but it was released in 1985- which means it was released 27 years ago and not eligible for this list. There are many sequels that stand up on its own (The Dark Knight, The Godfather Part II, Spiderman 2, The Empire Strikes Back just to name a few). Back to the Future Part II is not one of them. However, if TBO is trying to piggy back the original Back to the Future into this list, then that's at least understandable.

But not to shit on his selection so much, let me explain why the Back to the Future movies are awesome. Or at least attempt to do so. There is nothing technically spectacular about the movies. There's no underlying universal themes about human emotions or behavior, there's no acting performance that will blow you away, and there's no great directorial or camera tricks throughout the movies. However, the movies are just fun. I don't think anyone can sit through any Back to the Future movies (at least the first two) and not have the same reaction The 'Bright' One did. They just make you happy. The movies are a sci-fi roller coaster ride that you just want to watch again and again.

And as sports fans, we always wish we knew the outcome of games. We've all been in Biff's shoes wishing we knew how games ended so we can bet on them. Game of Inches has a Yahoo! group where we try and predict the outcome of every single NFL game. The internet is full of analysts trying to determine how games were won and lost. However, that's the way life is supposed to be. It's supposed to be uncertain. Not only would sports become boring but life would be boring. Back to the Future Part II shows the negative consequences of a world where a person knows the outcome of everything. 1985B is a terrible world to live in and Marty and Doc Brown have to go back in time and fix it.

There's something about time travel that everyone seems to enjoy. We all have made mistakes that we wish we could go back and correct and the Back to the Future trilogy shows us what a wild and crazy romp time travel can be.

FUN FACT: When Doc Brown and Marty McFly go to 2015 the newspaper said that the Chicago Cubs defeated the Miami team to win the World series. The Florida Marlins just changed their name to the Miami Marlins. However, both the Cubs and Marlins play in the NL so they can not face each other in the World Series. Also, in the movie, the Miami franchise is the Miami Gators.