Back to the Future II is a different movie, but it’s still great. The plot is so interwoven, it’s hard to follow when you first watch it. When I first saw it as a little girl, I didn’t like it too much. But now that I’m older, and I can follow the plot better, it’s tied for my favorite movie in the trilogy along with the original.

The movie opens right where the second one left off, which is true of the entire trilogy, and is one of the reasons I love all three films so much. Doc, Marty, and Jennifer head to 2015 where the flying DeLorean from the end of the first film is nothing out of the ordinary. Marty also gains a hoverboard here, which is a pink floating skateboard with no wheels. Every kid in America wanted one of these, but of course it was just done with special effects for the movie. I bought one of these on April 1st on the internet, only to be informed that it was just a practical joke. It was a fun little joke though, since they gave you a pink pig stress toy to relieve your stress from not being able to actually purchase a hoverboard. :)

Getting back to the film, Marty must save his son’s future, but ends up ruining everyone’s present instead by putting a sports guide in the hands of Biff. When Marty and Doc travel back to 1985, they find out that Biff is a powerful man, and he destroyed the lives of Marty, Doc, and everyone in Hill Valley. They find out that Biff gave himself the almanac on the day of the Enchantment Under the Sea dance in 1955, so now Marty and Doc have to head back to 1955 to keep the Biff from 2015 from destroying their lives in 1985. It’s confusing, but from this point is where the movie gets really interesting.

Both Marty and Doc end up seeing their other selves (as there are two Martys and two Docs now in 1955). Marty must save his other self from Biff’s gang, or else he won’t travel back to 1985, creating a time parodox. The special effects in this movie were great, as there are a lot of split screens where the actors all communicate with themselves. There’s also a great scene in 2015 where Michael J. Fox plays three roles at the same time, Marty, Marty’s son Marty Jr., and also Marty’s daughter Marlene. I remember seeing a special on the special effects of this movie before the movie premiered in theaters, which focused on young Biff talking with old Biff. Both my dad and I were so impressed with the effects of the characters talking to each other, that there was no question that the family was going to see Back to the Future Part II in theaters.