BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II (1989) ** Those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it. Suits film audiences, who are happy enough to repeat things through sequels. Mea culpa, sometimes. This one, not so much. They trot out the same ideas, and even run some of it through the same footage. I guess that's kind of cute, at least they admit it. There's not really much new; a slight thought about the future double-helixing through multiple impressions of the same time traveler, but they leave it, whether through fear of confusing the audience or because they don't have any more I don't know. Then they're so content with the amount of cash in the till that they conclude by promising a sequel. Oh goody, I guess. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Robert Zemeckis and associates all reprise their characters well enough. They aren't the problem, though Fox is pushed too far towards James Bond turf to be credible...on the other hand what's the cross-demographic of people who believe time travel, but refuse to contemplate the "Family Ties" Republican as a superhero? Not consequential enough to effect box office, they're betting. The curse of a sequel is that by definition it's to be compared with the original, and the novelty, spark and originality just ain't here.
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