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Back to the Future Part II
- Review Date: October 30, 2005
- PG
- Genre: Science Fiction
- 1989
Common Sense Media says
Amusing futuristic sequel more dated, edgier than original.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that the second installment in this hit time-travel trilogy is slightly more "PG-13" than "PG." You'll find more language (including "s--t" and "a--hole"), sexual references (including jokes about breast implants and allusions to adultery and threesomes), and negative role models (the plot includes a lot of Biff in all three time periods) than in the first movie, so it may be an iffy pick for early-elementary-aged kids. But for mature 9-year-olds and up -- or kids who've already enjoyed the original -- the visuals about the movie's "future" and the physical comedy will entertain, even if the time-travel twists can get confusing.
What's the story?
In this sequel to Robert Zemeckis' wildly popular blockbuster Back to the Future, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) once again time travels -- this time not because he's fleeing terrorists but because Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) implores him to go to the future. Marty brings his girlfriend, Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue) along, and the three of them travel via DeLorean to the year 2015 in order to save Marty's future son, Marty Jr. (also Fox), from danger. During their time in 2015, aged bully Biff Tannen (Thomas S. Wilson) figures out that Marty and Doc have traveled from the past and decides to go back with a sports almanac to 1955 give his younger self an easy way to become rich by betting on winners. That change in the space-time continuum causes all sorts of devastating changes for Marty's present (1985), so he and Doc head all the way back to the '50s to stop Biff.
Is it any good?
As with The Matrix, a few critics regard the Back to the Future trilogy as one milestone original and two less-memorable sequels -- particularly this one. But there's still plenty of nostalgia value and amusement at the expense of the once distant, now all-too-imaginable future depicted here. Still, though Fox and Lloyd continue to be a winning comedic combination, there are downsides to this installment that make it less exciting than the original. The plot's overdependence on the annoying Biff character; the replacement of Crispin Glover, who so deftly played Marty's meek father George McFly; the fact that Fox and Wilson have to play more than one person; and the simple lack of novelty with the time-travel concept are but a few of the reasons this sequel is
fun but not fantastic.
Parents who grew up in the '80s may be surprised at how dated BACK TO THE FUTURE II feels, even though it was obviously made after the original, which still holds up after 25 years. It will remain, however, one of those movies that Generation Xers gravitate to and introduce to their kids. Children will get a kick out of the fact that the future imagined by Zemeckis involves shimmery metallic outfits and hover-boards for the general population. Maybe in another 25 years...
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how this movie compares to the original Back to the Future. How is Marty's family dilemma different in 2015 than it was in 1955? What are some differences between the original and the sequel? Which one do you like better, and why?
What makes Biff such an unredeemed, unapologetic nemesis? How are his motives for time travel back to the '50s different than Marty and Doc's?
The "future" is set in 2015, a year that's not so futuristic now. How does real life compare to the future depicted in the 1980s?
Did all of the time travel make sense, or was it to difficult to follow? What are some other time travel-themed movies that explore similar themes of trying to right past wrongs?
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AGE
Good Acting, Good Script, Worthy Sequel.
BACK TO THE FUTURE is a classic. I can't say as much for the second installment in the trilogy, BACK TO THE FUTURE PART 2, but it's a pretty darn good sequel.
The tone in this one is darker than in the first, but the content level is pretty much the same. Langauge is, like the other one, constant, and there's a moderate amount of sex too. The married villian is shown in a bathtub with two assumably naked women (nothing but shoudlers are seen, as there are bubbles in the bath). The main characters mother, unhappily married to the villian, gestures at her breasts and says "You were the one who wanted me to get these THINGS!" Violence is mild, with a few kicks and punches.
This film is worth watching if you're determined to see the entire trilogy or are a big fan of the original. The 1955 sequences from the first one, viewed at a new angle, blow your mind. The biginning 2015 sequence is a bit cheesy, but a brilliant cliffhanger patches it all up well. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd were made to be in this movie together, and are brilliant onscreen.
Worth watching.
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Kid, 11 years old
June 19, 2011
AGE
Awesome, Amazing stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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AGE
Pefect for tweens and up
It fine not as good as the first movie but the Inventor is not shot in Part 2 its Part 1.Also it is a confusion story plot and is sometime is very dark like where the Bully is threating to shoot the Teen Character.Referance to weapons and naked women in a hot tub .Also the Teen character does a bad thing in 2015 witch makes an alternate 1985 witch the bully rules the town
nuclear waste everywhere biker gangs and and the clocktower has been turned into a casino where Biff lives.Overall okay 11+
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AGE
Great movie, but the common sense rating was way off.
I thought this movie was great, but the common sense rating was way off. There was lots of language, violence, (including beating), and a couple of references to rape. The grown-up version of Bif forces his wife to wear a sexy dress and then verbally abuses her. He is seen later in a hot tub with two naked women. I just thought I'd mention that, since the common sense people didn't.
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Kid, 12 years old
May 23, 2010
AGE
Violence (PG): Punches are thrown, a gun is shown, a charecter killed.
Sexual Content (PG): Two naked ladies are in a hot tub with Biff, Biff smoochs Lorraine for a full minute.
Language (PG): Same as the first movie.
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AGE
In My Opinion
I personally liked this one the most out of the three. It had a more frantic feel to it and the climax was stronger in my opinion.
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AGE
Whoa! I'm glad they made the third one even though this was so bad. Not only was it an insult to the trilogy, but it was much more inappropriate than the other two. I wouldn't even watch it with kids <12.
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AGE
Didn't like the language
Common sense rated this 8, and usually I trust their numbers. There is a lot of swearing in this movie, so much so that we didn't even finish it.
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Kid, 9 years old
July 12, 2011
AGE
very bad
I DO not not think it is good it is very bad
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| Topics: | adventures |
| Studio: | Universal Pictures |
| Director: | Robert Zemeckis |
| Cast: | Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Michael J. Fox |
| Genre: | Science Fiction |
| Run time: | 108 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | November 22, 1989 |
| DVD release date: | January 25, 2005 |
| MPAA rating: | PG |
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