‘BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART II’

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Back In Time (Part 2)

The second ‘Back to the Future’ is my favourite of the trilogy. It’s a clever film about how Marty and Doc discover history being altered and have to put things right so that their version of 1985 is back.

In this movie, Doc takes Marty and his girlfriend Jennifer to the year 2015. Marty has to save his son from being framed. But Biff steals the time machine and changes history of his own purposes.

This film is probably the most complex and extraordinary I’ve ever seen. The messages of changing history are so strong in this film and Marty suffers the consequences of his actions when it happens.

It’s very clever writing and directing on Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale’s part. It gets even cleverer when as well as visiting 2015, we revisit 1955 and scenes from the first ‘Back to the Future’ film.

The plot of the film involves a sports statistics book that Marty purchases from 2015 which Biff steals to change the past for him. Marty and Doc have to get that book back from Biff to stop it happening.

I really like the 2015 future scenes in this movie. Our 2015 is not like the one seen in this film unfortunately. We don’t have any flying cars today and I’m waiting for my hover board to ride on.

Michael J. Fox is great as Marty McFly in this movie. I like it when Marty is amazed at seeing the future in 1985 and when he’s horrified at seeing 1985 changed and that his father George is dead.

Fox not only gets to play Marty in this movie, but three other characters as well. He plays Marty as an older man; his son Marty McFly Jr and his daughter Marlene. That’s a lot of Michael J. Fox’s here.

Christopher Lloyd is great as Doc Brown in this movie. I like it mad scientist manner, especially when explaining to Marty the consequences of changing history and the importance of setting it right.

Lea Thompson returns as Lorraine, Marty’s mom in this movie. As well the 1955 version of Lorraine, there’s also Grandma Lorraine in 1985 and an alternative 1985 Lorraine married to Biff who is so big.

Thomas F. Wilson returns as Biff. Biff becomes more of a personal threat to Marty in this movie. We see three versions of Biff including the 1955 one; the alternative 1985 one and the old man in 2015.

Wilson also plays Griff, Biff’s grandson in this movie. Griff is a mad gang leader in 2015 who likes to use a baseball bat to knock people out like Marty. Griff and his gang get framed at some point here.

It was nice to see scenes repeated from ‘Back to the Future’ in this movie when Marty tries to get the sports book back from Biff. It keeps the whole thing consistent throughout this movie definitely.

The original DVD special features are as follows. There’s the ‘Back to the Future, Part II’ featurette and the ‘Making the Trilogy: Chapter 2’ documentary. There are also outtakes; deleted scenes and a Hover Board test. There are also storyboard to final feature comparisons; production archives and a theatrical trailer for the movie.

The 30th anniversary DVD/Blu-ray special features are as follows. There’s an audio commentary with producers Bob Gale and Neil Canton without director Robert Zemeckis. There’s also an audio commentary track which is actually a Q&A session with director Robert Zemeckis and producer Bob Gales in front of a live audience, moderated by Laurent Bouzerau. There’s also the fourth part of a six-part retrospective on ‘Back to the Future’ with brand-new behind-the-scenes cast and crew interviews called ‘Tales From The Future: Time Flies’. There’s ‘The Physics of Back to the Future’; The ‘Back to the Future, Part II’ featurette; the ‘Making the Trilogy: Chapter 2’ documentary; and a behind-the-scenes section including outtakes, deleted scenes; the Hover Board test and photo galleries including production archives. And there’s the theatrical trailer for the movie.

‘Back to the Future, Part II’ is an exciting and engaging instalment in this trilogy. It’s my favourite out of the three and is gripping to see how Marty and Doc save history together. What will happen next?

At the end, Marty returns to the Doc in 1955 saying he’s back from the future. The Doc then faints…

‘Back to the Future, Part II’ rating – 10/10

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‘BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART II’ (NOVELIZATION)

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Getting Back was Only the Beginning…

It’s great to be back in the book world of ‘Back to the Future’ again! 🙂

As of November 2025, it’s amazing to find that I’ve celebrated the 40th anniversary of ‘Back to the Future’ in more ways than one. Earlier this year, I checked out and reviewed the first ‘Back to the Future’ movie novelization by George Gipe, based on the 1985 film. 🙂

In August and September, I saw ‘Back to the Future – The Musical’ at the Adelphi Theatre in London twice and I’ve checked out its original cast recording music CD album. And quite recently, I saw a re-release of the first ‘Back to the Future’ film at the cinema. So exciting!

To think ‘Back to the Future’ continues to be talked about 40 years later since the first film came out in 1985. And rightly so, as the ‘Back to the Future’ film trilogy is a compelling set of films featuring great storytelling, characters and action-packed scenes throughout.

As I enjoyed checking out the first ‘Back to the Future’ movie novelization by George Gipe, it only made sense that I check out the rest of the movie trilogy in book form. I know I had in mind to check them out the following year, but I was keen to read more of this trilogy. 🙂

The sad thing about this is that George Gipe isn’t the author of the second and third books of the ‘Back to the Future’ film trilogy. He sadly died in 1986 after a bee stung him. Otherwise, it would’ve been interesting to find out how he would’ve continued the story in book form.

Despite that, the author of the second and third books of the ‘Back to the Future’ film trilogy is just as good as George Gipe. For the second and third ‘Back to the Future’ books happen to be by Craig Shaw Gardner, an author I’ve encountered before in my readings.

Craig Shaw Gardner would go on to novelize the 1989 ‘Batman’ film and its sequel ‘Batman Returns’. So, I had an idea of what he’d be like as an author for the second and third ‘Back to the Future’ books and knew he could deliver something very satisfying. 🙂

I did wonder about whether to recap what I’d read in the previous book – the first ‘Back to the Future’ movie novelization by George Gipe – and see how the ending for that book is reflected in the opening for the ‘Back to the Future, Part II’ book. I decided not to do so. 🙂

You see, when you think about it, ‘Back to the Future, Parts II and III‘ are quite separate from the first ‘Back to the Future’ film. I know the three instalments are linked together, but ‘Back to the Future, Parts II and III’ have their own separate story from the first film. 😐

This is due to ‘Parts II and III’ being filmed back-to-back and they were released in 1989 and 1990. The storytelling is more consistent in ‘Parts II and III’ compared to when you add them after the first film. This is reflected in the ending of ‘Part I’ when it leads into ‘Part II’.

That’s not just in the change of actress playing Jennifer when Claudia Wells wasn’t able to return for the second and third movies. It’s also in the addition of Biff appearing and seeing the Delorean car flying off into the sky – something which didn’t occur in the first film.

So, based on that argument, I decided to check out the second ‘Back to the Future’ movie in book form on its own merits. Plus, it’s by a different author. I doubt Craig Shaw Gardner even tried to match his ‘Back to the Future, Part I’ ending to George Gipe’s version of it.

With that said, I needn’t have worried because Craig Shaw Gardner is able to recap the first film very successfully in the book for the second film. This isn’t just at the beginning of the book, but also throughout it when recapping certain moments from the first film. 🙂

This is especially when Martin and Doc Brown go back in time to 1955 to stop Biff from changing history once he’s given the Sports Almanac by his older self from 2015. Craig Shaw Gardner also seems to know the first film pretty well when writing the second book.

This shouldn’t be a surprise, considering the first ‘Back to the Future’ film had been out for quite a while since 1985, and Craig Shaw Gardner probably would’ve seen it more than once to understand what it’s about. I don’t recall inconsistences in any recap of the first movie.

In terms of the book’s structure, the story is divided into 22 chapters with a prologue at the beginning and an epilogue at the end. The chapters are pretty straightforward to read and I was able to get into the book’s pages, having watched the film so many times myself.

The prologue is a recap of what happened when Doc Brown in 1955 was about to send Marty back to the future in the Delorean at the end of the first film. This does tie-in very well to the ending that’s featured in the epilogue, taken from the end of the second film itself.

The emphasis is made in the prologue that Doc Brown in 1955 has no idea of what’s to come after he’s sent Marty back to the future in 1985. It sets up the story well in terms of the paradoxes about to occur and the changes to the timeline, as depicted in the second film.

As I’ve indicated, the book is straightforward in terms of being an adaptation of the second film into prose form. There are tweaks to certain characters’ dialogue here and there, but the book’s plot and structure matches to how things happen in the second film.

There are a couple of deleted scenes featured in the book that aren’t in the film itself. One deleted scene I recall vividly from watching ‘Back to the Future, Part II’ on DVD is the scene where Marty meets up his brother Dave in the alternate 1985 and he’s pretty drunk.

In terms of that scene being cut from the second film, I’m not bothered by that, as it probably would have slowed the story down. Although, it does provide an interesting build-up in terms of Marty finding out what happened to his family in the alternate 1985.

This includes George McFly being killed off and Lorraine being married to Biff. Whilst it’s a scene that’s not necessary to have in the final cut of the film, it does provide emphasis on how much has changed for Marty and his family when history happens to be rewritten.

A couple of deleted scenes that weren’t included in the DVD release I saw, and I’m not sure it was saved on film quite frankly, are the scenes where Doc Brown meets with Old Man Peabody. You know, the farmer who was in the first film and assumed the Delorean was a flying saucer?

Apparently, there are still photos featuring Old Man Peabody appearing in ‘Back to the Future, Part II’. Why his scenes were cut and why we can’t see them in visual form at all is a mystery to me. Perhaps the filmmakers thought they were unnecessary to be included in the final cut.

Either way, had that scene been included and from what information I’ve gathered, it would have explained why the Delorean was acting strangely before it sent Doc back in time to 1885. It’s amusing Old Man Peabody was still on the lookout for that Delorean. 😀

Mind you, Marty did crash the Delorean into one of the farmer’s pine trees, causing Twin Pines Mall to end up as Lone Pine Mall once Marty returned in 1985 at the end of the first film. So, it’s understandable Old Man Peabody would be rather obsessed about the Delorean.

I can’t recall that many deleted scenes featured on the DVD release of ‘Back to the Future, Part II’. Mind you, I do recall one scene where we see the older Biff from 2015 returning the Delorean for Marty and Doc to take Jennifer and Einstein home. It’s not in the book. 😐

In that scene, it would have shown Biff fading out of existence once the changes to the timeline were occurring. I don’t know if that deleted scene was in the original film script, but it’s a shame to not find it in the book. Or if it is in the book, it does seem quite obscure.

Frankly, it’s an effective scene and would’ve explained why Biff was ill after he returned the Delorean to 2015. Ah well, at least his illness stopped him taking any evidence away which Marty and Doc would find, e.g., the top of his cane and the shopping bag for the sports book.

One scene I noticed that’s not in the ‘Back to the Future, Part II’ book is the additional dialogue between Marty and Lorraine from the first film where they’re in Doc Brown’s car, and the Marty who’s trying to get the Sports Almanac back from Biff goes around the car.

Lorraine: When I have kids, I’m going to let them do anything they want. Anything at all.
Marty: Yeah, I’d like to have that in writing.

That was followed up by the ‘Part II’ Marty muttering under his breath, “Yeah, me too”. I don’t know if that dialogue was included in the original ‘Part II’ script, though it must have been, considering it was included in the first film when George Gipe novelized it for prose.

In which case, how come Craig Shaw Gardner didn’t include that dialogue in the ‘Part II’ novelization. Mind you, a lot of ‘Part I’ scenes aren’t novelized in the ‘Part II’ novelization. Maybe Craig Shaw Gardner wanted to restrict this story to having just ‘Part II’ dialogue in it.

I don’t know why that would be the case, but it was unusual to discover when reading the ‘Part II’ novelization. At least the ‘Part I’ scenes were easy to visualise whilst reading the ‘Part II’ book, as Craig Shaw Gardner writes them so well for readers to get into the story.

Regarding Marty’s character, he goes on an interesting journey in both ‘Parts II and III’ where he must restrain himself and not lose control when people call him ‘chicken’. Now in the movies, this is played as a running joke, and it is funny how it’s played out in ‘Parts II and III’. 🙂

However, in terms of how Craig Shaw Gardner writes it in the book, it’s played more seriously rather than comedically. This is especially concerning how Marty’s future in 2015 isn’t so idyllic as he and Jennifer would’ve liked, and the two ending up not getting along.

It’s also emphasised when Marty in 2015 does a dodgy deal with Needles, only to end up being fired by his boss straight after that. I like how the fact that people calling Marty ‘chicken’ isn’t a good thing, considering it causes him to end up in an unhappy future.

It’ll be interesting to uncover how that’s resolved in the ‘Part III’ book. Presumably, Craig Shaw Gardner wrote the two books one after the other, or read both scripts for ‘Parts II and III’ one after the other, to get an understanding of where the story arc is going next. 🙂

Small additions are added in the ‘Part II’ novelization to make it more interesting compared to how it’s presented in the film. In the book, Marty tries to go through the front door of his house once he and Doc end up in the alternate 1985. But of course, it’s locked.

He also discovers his key doesn’t fit the lock. The scenes where Marty finds a black family living in his house is handled differently in the book. Those scenes have more dialogue, including the father telling his children to ‘shut up’ whilst he’s trying to hit Marty with a bat.

Exposition given by Doc Brown to Marty when they end up back in 1955 is omitted in the book compared to being in the film. I wish that dialogue had been included, as it would’ve established the seriousness of Marty and Doc to not run into their other selves in 1955.

Doc: There are now two of me here…and there are two of you here. The other me, is the Dr. Emmett Brown from 1955. The younger me…that helps the younger you get back to 1985!

In the book, Doc Brown happens to have a money belt under his Hawaiian shirt containing money from different eras. In the film however, it’s a suitcase containing money from different eras. I’m not sure which is better, though, for me, the suitcase seems preferable.

Incidentally, there’s a character named Terry that Marty meets in the film. In 2015, Terry is the man who tries to persuade Marty to donate for the broken clock tower. Yeah, even after all these years, the clock tower isn’t repaired in 2015. Has it been repaired in 2025? 😀

Anyway, back on track. In 1955, when Marty follows Biff as he collects his car, the auto mechanic that gives Bill the $300 bill for repairing his car happens to be the same guy that Marty met who tried to persuade him to donate for the clock tower in 2015. Random!

I’ve checked, and apparently, the actor playing Terry in both 1955 and 2015, is Charles Fleischer. Charles Flesicher must have been made up to look old in 2015 compared to his younger self in 1955. I wouldn’t have guessed the two were played by the same actor. 😀

On a side note, Charles Flesicher was the actor who voiced Roger Rabbit in the 1988 film ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’, which was also directed by Robert Zemeckis. Upon revisiting ‘Back to the Future, Part II’ lately, a Roger Rabbit doll appears in a shop window in 2015. 😀

In the original 2015 timeline before Marty took his son’s place and prevented him being involved in the robbery, it’s implied that Marty Jr.’s sister, Marlene, committed suicide following her brother’s arrest. This was due to her having fallen into a deep depression. 😐

The word ‘suicide’ doesn’t get used in the book, though it’s implied that is the case, even when Marty interrupts Doc at one point in the story. Marlene does seem to be moodier in the book compared to the movie. She still has Marty’s likeness though, according to the book. 😀

The two policewomen in 2015 finding Jennifer in the alley is played differently in the book compared to what’s in the film. In the film, Marty meets with Doc after buying the Sports Almanac, they see Griff and his gang arrested, and Doc discovers Marty bought the book.

This is before they spot Jennifer being picked up by the two policewomen. In the book however, Marty first sees Jennifer being picked up by the policewomen, goes to find Doc, they see Griff and his gang being arrested, and Doc discovers Marty bought the Almanac.

Then Marty tells Doc about what happened to Jennifer being picked up the two policewomen. It’s interesting how that’s played out differently in the book compared to what’s shown in the film. I guess Craig Shaw Gardner was working from the original script.

I mean, Bob Gale would have probably been asked to change things if the original scene didn’t quite work out as Robert Zemeckis was directing it. It still serves the same plot points in both book and movie, but it’s fascinating how it’s played out differently in both versions.

The book concludes in the same way that it ended in the film on the cliffhanger note where Marty runs to find Doc Brown after sending the other Marty from the first film back to 1985. The 1955 Doc Brown collapses in being overwhelmed by Marty’s surprise return.

There’s an implication given where Marty wonders whether his sudden appearance to 1955 Doc finished him off for good. It provides more to the cliffhanger about whether Doc is alive or not before we have the final page that clearly illustrates that the story is meant to continue. 🙂

TO BE CONCLUDED

IN

BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART III!!

The ‘Back to the Future, Part II’ novelization is very good. I greatly enjoyed reading the book and I’m enjoying Craig Shaw Gardner’s take on ‘Back to the Future’ so far. It’s amazing how he keeps things consistent, especially with recapping the first film in the book.

It was also intriguing to find what’s similar and what’s different between the book and the movie version of ‘Part II’. I’m sure there are scenes and moments I’ve not mentioned from reading the book, but the ones I’ve mentioned have been fascinating. 🙂

No audiobook has been produced for the ‘Back to the Future, Part II’ novelization, which is a shame. Should there be an audiobook for the ‘Part II’ book, I would warmly welcome someone like Christopher Lloyd to read the story, as I’m sure he’d be very good reading it.

Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to check out the ‘Back to the Future, Part III’ novelization. Hopefully, it’ll be just as good as what Craig Shaw Gardner has done with novelizing ‘Part II’. What will be similar and different when comparing the book to the film?

‘Back to the Future, Part II’ (Novelization) rating – 9/10

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