Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Really good sequels are hard to come by.  I don’t know if it’s just me, but there was a time when follow-ups were little more than an attempt to get a little more money out of audiences.  Home Alone was cute.  The second one was unnecessary.  I have a vague recollection that others may have been made.

There are cases, like the Lord of the Rings movies that were planned all at once.  It’s not a series of movies, but rather one story told in installments.  For whatever reason, each entry into the franchise is solid and worthy of paying for another admission.

The Back to the Future trilogy is an odd occurrence.  The first movie was going to be one movie.  There was the final scene where Doc takes Marty and Jennifer into the future, but it was meant to be just that:  The final scene.  When the movie did well, two more movies were made, back to back.

Back to the Future Part II picks up where Part I left off.  Doc takes Marty and Jennifer into the future.  Doc tells Marty and Jennifer that their children are in trouble.  The DeLorean has been modified so that it can accept waste as fuel, making things easier.  Oh, and where they’re going, they don’t need roads.  The DeLorean can now fly.

There are a few signs that the sequel wasn’t planned.  Jennifer has to be sedated, as Doc can’t have her asking too many questions.  (From what I recall, her presence wasn’t though that far through.  Sedating her was easier than changing the end of Part I.)  It does lead to a little trouble, as she’s taken to her future house and meets herself.

Once Marty and Doc return to 1955, they soon realize that they have bigger problems.  Marty hatched the idea to take a sports almanac back with him.  Doc discovered the plan and admonished Marty.  Unfortunately, Biff overheard them arguing and stole the idea.

Biff took the DeLorean back to 1955 and gave the almanac to his younger self so that he might bet on stuff and win big, which he does.  This leads to Hill Valley (and the surrounding areas) becoming an urban wasteland.  Marty enters his house to discover another family living there.  Principal Strickland is reduced to chasing away newspaper thieves with a shotgun.  And the clock tower is now the BiffCo casino.

This leads to a somewhat complicated third act where Marty and Doc have to return to the past to set the present right again.  They also have to avoid their former selves so that the events of the first movie aren’t changed.  It takes Marty a lot longer than it should to retrieve the almanac, but he does and eventually burns it, setting things right.  The movie ends with the DeLorean being hit by lightening (with Doc inside) and being sent back to 1885.  Thus, we get to see some pre-credit coming attractions for Part III, which takes place in the Old West.

The most noticeable thing about the movie for some is the conspicuous product placement.  (Personally, I’m still waiting on that Black & Decker device to rehydrate my Pizza Hut carryout order.)  Fortunately, it’s not that bad.  It is fun to see the Café 80s, where Ayatollah Khomeini and Ronald Reagan have been given the Max Headroom treatment and compete to take your order.

Marty and Jennifer get to see where they live, which is nice.  One thing that’s always bothered me, though, was having kids that look like one of the parents.  Both Marty, Jr., and Marlene are played by Michael J. Fox.  With the son, I can understand.  An important plot point rests on this being the case.  Still, do we need to have both kids played by the same actor?  Not to mention that Thomas F. Wilson plays both Biff and his grandson Griff.

As with the first movie, people have raised questions, a few of which I have myself.  First, why didn’t time change around Marty and Doc when Biff came back from the past?  If this would be the case with Jennifer and Einstein, why not anyone else?  (It’s probably a conscious decision to allow for the story to hold together.  It is a bit odd, though.)  Also, how did Doc know to drop the rope at the end of the tunnel?  That was pretty good timing.  Maybe Doc got lucky.  Maybe not.  We may never know.

IMDb page

9 (movie review)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

It’s not easy to predict what life will be like after humans have come and gone.  Sometimes, it’s by disease.  In many cases, we’ve all but wiped ourselves out, usually by way of nuclear weapons.  In the movie “9”, we built machines that turned on us killed every last human.  9 sentient dolls are left as the last proof that any of us were ever here.

When the movie starts, even many of the machines are gone.  Those that are left are running out of power.  The title character, 9, awakens in a scientist’s workshop alone.  He looks out to find another like him, but finds that he can’t speak.  He follows and eventually catches up with the other doll, who goes by 2.  (Each doll has their respective number on their chest.)  2 is able to fix 9’s voice.

Shortly thereafter, they’re ambushed.  2 is taken and 9 is left unconscious.  He awakes to find 1, 5, 6 and 8.  They take 9 back to their sanctuary.  He finds that each doll has their own personality.  1 is a pope-like leader.  8 is his enforcer.  5 tends to be shy.  6 is obsessed with The Source.  1 has kept the dolls safe from the remaining machines.  The others fall in line with him, usually out of fear.  (When they don’t, there’s always 8.)

What we have is a battle of wills.  1 wants to play it safe.  No harm can come to them if they hide.  However, 9 feels that action needs to be taken.  2 has been captured and may be in danger.  Yes, 1 has kept them safe and yes, 9 does create a fair amount of trouble that would never have happened had he listened to 1.  However, at what point do you stop playing it safe?  Sticking your head in the sand isn’t always the way to go.

I don’t want to give away the entire movie.  Even by animation standards, 79 minutes is short, so it’s easy to give away big chunks of the plot.  I will say that this is more of an adult-friendly movie.  I’ve said in other reviews that animation doesn’t always translate to kid-friendliness.  This version of the future is a dark and scary place.  Earth has become a wasteland with big robots preying on small dolls.

The plot is a simple one.  9 screws up a system that seems to work, but presents a case why it won’t always work.  He sets out to prove he’s right, screws things up and then has to put things back as best he can.  As I said, the characters have personalities, but tend to be one-dimensional.  With such a short time, there’s little chance at character development.  (The only thing that 8 is good at is pushing people around at 1’s command.)

The animation is great.  With few human characters in the movie, you can easily forget that it’s CGI.   This can also lend a sense of realism that may make the movie a bit more disturbing for children.  You have characters trying to outrun machines that are trying to kill them.  This does happen on occasion, and quite graphically.  I think that children would have a few sleepless nights if they saw this movie.

I did get to see this in theaters and had the chance to see it in 3D, which I really enjoyed.  Now that it’s on DVD, I don’t know if you’ll have the same option.  It would be nice if you did, as I thought it was worth it.  If the movie is ever shown in theaters in 3D again, I’d recommend seeing it there.  If you can’t get it in 3D on DVD, don’t worry about it.  It’s still a good movie.  While I’m glad I got the chance to see it on the big screen, I’d still recommend it on the small screen. 

Official Site

Official Trailer