Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Quick note to the people who made this: you promised hoverboards, and I am still waiting. Part II crams a goofy future, a nightmare Hill Valley and more timeline homework than a physics final into 108 minutes. The future stuff is a blast. Michael J. Fox plays Marty, his own son and his own daughter, and the makeup at that family dinner looks like a haunted wax museum. Thomas F. Wilson plays a whole family tree of Biffs and finds a fresh way to make each one a jerk. The problem is the plot feels like it was planned on a napkin during a fire drill. Jennifer gets knocked out early and parked on a porch for most of the movie, which is a wild way to treat the girlfriend. Critics went lukewarm with a 63% on Rotten Tomatoes while audiences kept it on repeat. A 7.3 because the ideas are huge and the storytelling is held together with tape. $331 says you look at your sneakers tonight and feel personally let down that they don’t lace themselves.

What works: The future section is a goofy blast, and Michael J. Fox playing half the McFly family at one dinner table is a great trick.

What doesn’t: The plot jumps timelines so often it stops being fun to track, and Jennifer gets sidelined for nearly the whole movie.

Who it’s for: Trilogy fans who know the first movie by heart and want to see it from a brand new angle.