Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageBack to the Future Part II (1989)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
No sooner has Marty McFly (Fox) returned to 1985, than Doc Brown (Lloyd) turns up to whisk him and perfunctory romantic interest Jennifer (Shue) off to 2015, in order to prevent grown-up Marty's kids going to jail. Meanwhile, mean old man Biff Tannen (Wilson) picks up an almanac of sports results, borrows the DeLorean, and heads back to the '50s to make himself rich and turn Hill valley into hell on earth. With Bob Gale, Zemeckis has fashioned a script whose complex twists, ironies and paradoxes amply compensate for the somewhat juvenile nature of the action itself. Kids will love the wham-bang-wallop, but adults will probably be more concerned with trying to fathom exactly what is going on, how and why. It's impressive entertainment, and best of all, it never degenerates into Spielbergian sentimentality: you can laugh, be thrilled and think without feeling embarrassed.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Producer: Bob Gale, Neil Canton
Cast: Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F Wilson, Harry Waters Jr, Charles Fleischer, Joe Flaherty, Elizabeth Shue full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 108 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'
Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now