Back to the Future Part II managed to copy the original Back to the Future without feeling like a retread, and there are a few reasons that the sequel was capable of pulling off this seemingly impossible trick. Back to the Future Part II succeeded because the sequel was one of the few movies to take the old Hollywood adage about sequels offering “the same thing, but different,” seriously. By jumping back in time to the original Back to the Future’s plot mid-way through the sequel’s story, Back to the Future Part II literally gave viewers a chance to see the same thing, again—but differently. However, this impressive achievement was not one that the sequel pulled off easily.
Try as they might, later time travel series could never quite replicate this approach. This, however, did not stop a lot of major franchises from attempting this feat. As recently as in 2019’s Dark Fate, the Terminator movies have repeatedly tried to revisit the events of the original movies, but never recaptured their tone. Meanwhile, Bill and Ted’s adventures had to expand their scope in the original movie’s sequels, and other series (such as The Butterfly Effect and Hot Tub Time Machine) simply produced critically abhorred follow-ups. However, there are numerous reasons that Doc and Marty heading back to the original Back to the Future didn’t wear thin and get boring.
5 Back to the Future 2 Started With A New Plot
The opening acts of Back to the Future Part II are set in the future, meaning viewers didn’t feel short-changed by the sequel’s midway plot shift. The original Back to the Future’s ending promised viewers an adventure involving Marty’s kids and, for the first hour, the sequel delivered. While critics hated Back to the Future Part II upon release, the sequel is now viewed as a worthy follow-up to the original largely because this plotline works as a standalone story. The absurd version of 2015 imagined by Back to the Future Part II (complete with hoverboards and flying cars) may not have materialized, but the sequel’s satire still proved prescient decades later.
This is important since Back to the Future Part II’s future-set story could have come across as a time-filling exercise designed to get the characters back to 1955. Instead, for the first act, it seems as if the sequel has no intention of revisiting the original Back to the Future. it is only when viewers are already invested in the fate of Marty McFly’s offspring that the alternate timeline is introduced and the sequel’s plot starts in earnest. As if to underline this, Back to the Future Part III is filled with nods to the second movie that proves the future-set opening act did impact Marty’s worldview.
4 Back to the Future 2’s 1985 Plotline Worked
Back to the Future Part II’s 1985 story could have been a whole movie in itself and it would have worked even if the sequel didn’t get more ambitious with its timeline-jumping. The story of Marty and Doc trying to intervene in the life of Marty’s son and unintentionally allowing Biff to set up Back to the Future Part II’s dystopian alternate timeline is an intriguing plot line that could sustain a full sequel. As such, when the final act of Back to the Future Part II returns to the events of the original movie, this feels more like an ingenious gag than a desperate ploy to keep the attention of the audience. This allowed the movie to successfully revisit previous plot beats, without the risk of them becoming stale.
3 Back to the Future Mocked The Original Movie
As if to further prove that Back to the Future Part II didn’t rely entirely on nostalgia for its predecessor, the sequel instead opted to mock the complicated story and occasional plot holes of the original Back to the Future. Whether it is Future Biff laughing at his younger self for the original movie’s manure gag or the original movie’s Marty almost walking into the sequel’s older Biff in 1955, Back to the Future Part II constantly laughs at the plot contrivances of its predecessor. This gives the whole endeavor a self-deprecating sense of humor that makes it easier to stomach the increasingly Byzantine plot mechanics of the story.
2 Back to the Future 2’s Story Gave Viewers The Same (But Different)
Back to the Future Part II gives viewers three new versions of Biff, but all of these hammy villains are still effectively the same old Biff (even if Griff Tannen is, admittedly, particularly unhinged). Similarly, the various versions of Marty McFly are all variations on the same all-American ne’er-do-well that viewers grew to love in the original movie. As a result, the sequel can remind viewers of the original Back to the Future without relying entirely on nostalgia for the first movie to ensure the sequel’s success. Since all these characters are unique, it doesn’t matter that they are also all variations on a familiar cast.
1 Back to the Future Set Up An Even Wilder Sequel
1990’s follow-up Back to the Future Part III was a full-blown Western, which made the time-twisting plot of Back to the Future Part II seem tame in comparison. If the tone of Back to the Future Part II was more self-serious, returning to the original movie’s events could have caused all manner of timeline-destroying plot holes. However, if it was any goofier (like its sequel), there would be no stakes to the story. As is, it’s the only franchise installment that could pull off this ingenious approach. While Back to the Future Part III gives the characters a great send-off, the final chapter is unabashedly sillier than its predecessors.
Similarly, while the original Back to the Future is filled with jokes, the movie also has moments of legitimate tension and discomfort. From Biff assaulting Marty’s mother to the opening scene’s Libyan terrorists, Back to the Future is a darker movie than fans often remember. This is largely because Back to the Future Part II captured the goofy tone that the series needed, while Back to the Future Part III ended up taking things even further into absurdity. While some viewers may prefer the competitive seriousness of the original Back to the Future or the goofiness of its sequel, only Back to the Future Part II could get away with its self-plagiarizing story.
