Don't bother looking back through my reviews, I'll just tell you right now. No, I haven't reviewed the first movie of the franchise yet, but I HAVE seen the entire series enough times to say with certainty that this is the best instalment of the series.
The movie continues the story of Marty McFly, a teenager who uses his mentor and friend Doctor Emmet Brown's DeLorean Time Machine to travel through time to shape moments that turned out to be crucial parts of his existence. In this 1989 sequel to the 1985 blockbuster, the duo visit 2015. Everything in the excursion went swimmingly, but things got complicated when a family rival used the the time machine to increase the wealth of his younger self, completely changing the course of history.
The trips back to the timeline of the first movie treat what was originally a revolutionary film as a set up to this even bigger story, with greater and more complex story-lines. The reason the "Back to The Future" series is so good is because it isn't simply a great movie with two more of the same thing; the trilogy charts the complete progression of the characters' values, knowledge and interests. Every movie serves as a setup for the next. That is why although the third movie (which takes place in the old west) is the worst in the series, it is not that bad of a sequel. Since it was set up in the previous film (which shot at the same time), the setting seemed like a natural progression.
I can't imagine the complexity of writing a short story about time travel, let alone three full feature films as layered and detailed as these. Robert Zemekis did a great job mapping out the details and presenting them in a way that were accessible enough for a mainstream audience. The franchise had some issues related to recasting a couple of recurring characters , but with the consistent help of then teenage sweetheart Michael J. Fox and the more mature Christopher Loyd, he successfully recreated all the settings and scenes that needed to be further developed.
This was the movie that really dared to dream a little bigger and keep an open mind about the possibilities that the future had to offer. The series itself encouraged its viewers to look forward to the unexpected, but this is the only one to absolutely follow its own advice. And although the future imagined in this sequel wasn't exactly what we came to see in real life, maybe it is a future that would've been better for humanity.
"Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it" is a rule broken with some exceptions. I think the producers of this movie remembered exactly what made the first film so great and successfully retreated it. It is almost crucial to see BTTF 1 before seeing this one, so if you haven't yet seen the series do yourself a favor and watch all three in order; you won't be disappointed.