Back to the Future Part II
Marty McFly and Doc Brown race across multiple timelines to prevent a corrupted future from permanently rewriting their lives.
Overview
Time travel takes a wild turn as a young man must navigate the future to save his family.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- zany
- propulsive
- family movie night
- nostalgic rewatch
What critics said
Critics broadly found the sequel energetic and inventive, but more uneven and cluttered than its predecessor.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Marty and Doc return to 1955 and intersect with events depicted in the earlier film, creating overlapping versions of the same history.
Biff exploits time travel to transform 1985 into a radically different, oppressive reality.
Michael J. Fox plays Marty, his future son, and his daughter, while other characters also appear in alternate-aged or alternate-history forms.
Flying cars, hoverboards, self-lacing shoes, and the time machine define the film's vivid 2015 future imagery.
Films like Back to the Future Part II, and why
Back to the Future
shares energetic time travel comedy, youthful protagonists, inventive technology, and escalating temporal complications
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
shares high-concept time travel, comic causality problems, family-friendly adventure, and retro-futurist spectacle
The Last Starfighter
shares playful science fiction, teen-centered adventure, altered timelines, and accessible blockbuster humor
Movie Details
- Director
- Robert Zemeckis
- Release Date
- 1989-11-22
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Rating
- 7.8 / 10 (14333)
Cast
- Michael J. Fox
- Christopher Lloyd
- Lea Thompson
- Thomas F. Wilson
- Elisabeth Shue
- James Tolkan
- Jeffrey Weissman
- Casey Siemaszko
- Billy Zane
- J.J. Cohen
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Back to the Future Part II about?
- Marty McFly and Doc Brown race across multiple timelines to prevent a corrupted future from permanently rewriting their lives.
- What is Back to the Future Part II like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Back to the Future Part II as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Back to the Future Part II violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Back to the Future Part II as mild.
- What did critics think of Back to the Future Part II?
- Critics broadly found the sequel energetic and inventive, but more uneven and cluttered than its predecessor.
- Which films are like Back to the Future Part II?
- Films with a similar feel include Back to the Future, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and The Last Starfighter.
- How long is Back to the Future Part II?
- Back to the Future Part II runs 108 minutes.
- Where can I watch Back to the Future Part II?
- In United States, Back to the Future Part II is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
