Robert Zemeckis provided a more than worthy follow-up to his 1985 classic.

Simon looks back at Back To The Future II…

I think they were probably right.

Its pretty amazing it came out this well at all.

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So why does the second one differ?

Back To The Future Part II?

Well, nominally its about going to the future to sort of Martys kids.

But really, its a film thats divided into three smaller ones.

Then its about going back to 1985 version two and finding out whats happened there.

And at the end of it all, the Doc ends up back in 1885.

The DeLorean has a lot of work to do.

It does mean that its an awful lot to pack into the narrative of a blockbuster film.

Thus, they have to pull in an increasingly-maligned narrative equipment.

Time travel movies and shows often struggle to get across the chronology involved in a narrative.

Zemeckis and Gale save themselves a good ten pages by taking us to class just for a minute.

Its Basil Exposition, just in a sort of infographic form.

Its not the only moment of outright exposition thats needed throughout the film, incidentally.

Theres the small matter of Lorraine in 2015 for instance.

But still: these quibbles were never much of a problem for me.

Because theres simply so much to like about the film.

But you cant help but admire the gusto with which they tackle the future.

A huge round of applause for Rick Carter there.

Theres new technology, but it doesnt always work.

Theres the same groups of people, from the cool kids to the grumps.

And theres misguided nostalgia all around.

But in the high definition world, the smallest details become clear.

Furthermore, the side characters all have some degree of progression.

Mayor Goldie Wilsons family tree isnt doing badly in 2015, for instance.

But then it also places little nuggets of helpful information in place for the future.

The same dust jacket that would later in the film cover up a copy of Oh-La-La magazine.

Its a small pointer, granted, but the trilogy as a whole is packed with moments like that.

That said, I cant help thinking that its the alternative 1980s where the most fun is had.

Notice the Clint Eastwood scene that Biff is watching when hes in the hot tub?

Where Clint has a bit of extra protection to guard himself in a gunfight?

This is brilliantly and confidently done, made in an era where computers could only help so much.

Again, its such a small detail, and nobody would really object if it wasnt included.

Its a lovely little piece of work, and all leads towards a satisfying cliffhanger for the next film.

Theres yet To The Future Part IIthat I love, though.

Alan Silvestris aforementioned score, for starters.

And then theres the special effects.

In my case, on first viewing, it was mission accomplished.

And personally, Im glad things like this are left in, rather than artificially corrected.

Its the latter thats something thats taken for granted now, but it was genuinely groundbreaking here.