Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson, Lea Thompson, Elisabeth Shue, James Tolkan, Flea, Billy Zane, Casey Siemaszko, J.J. Cohen, Jeffrey Weissman, Charles Fleischer. [PG]

Satisfying sequel picks up right where the last one left off, with Marty (Fox), Doc (Lloyd), and Jennifer (Shue, replacing Claudia Wells) shuttled thirty years into the future to save Marty Jr. from a dire fate; of course, that’s only the beginning of this inventive and often breathless middle chapter. Though the exposition-heavy mid-section set in the present slows the pace and wallows a bit too much in gloom, it’s surrounded by the eye-popping humor and excitement of the scenes in 2015, and the dexterous overlaps and suspense mechanisms of the ones in 1955 (a real treat for fans who know the original events like the backs of their hands). Lacks the freshness and heart of the original, and probably would have benefited from a little less of Biff Tannen (though Wilson does a crack job parodying Donald Trump), but as a whiz-bang contraption of mind-boggled thrills and laughs, it fits the bill just fine. Marty’s dad, George, is briefly played here by Weissman after Crispin Glover neglected to return. Jason Scott Lee and Elijah Wood both have bit parts, the latter in his feature debut.

80/100