Why So Blu?

Back To The Future Part II (4K Blu-ray Review)

The sequel to Back To The Future is a rare one that for some even eclipses the original. There is a new story with a somewhat familiar premise, but overall has a different feel to the original.  The stakes as always are higher, and the cliffhanger ending is one that made the film’s fans crazy for the next installment.  If ever there was a reliable franchise, Back To The Future was it. Check out more in depth on Back to the Future Part IIbelow and be sure to click the (Paid) links below to get your copy of this incredible set!

Film 

Marty (Michael J. Fox), Jennifer (Elizabeth Shue) and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) left part one in cliffhanger fashion. Taking a page from the Rocky films, Part II picks up just where the first installment ended. We see the time travelling duo, girlfriend in tow headed off to the future — In this case, 2015. There we learn that Marty and Jennifer’s son, Marty Jr. is about to be in trouble with the law. Simply, Marty is to disguise himself as his identical junior and stop a local gang from taking advantage of him. Just like his father, Marty Jr. does NOT like to be thought of as a chicken.

Of course, things don’t work out as smoothly as possible.  Jennifer begins to ask too many questions, so Doc knocks her out leaving her in an alley.  Marty foils the gang member’s plans, but also creates a rift in the timeline for Griff (Thomas F. Wilson). Biff Tannen, an old Codger in 2015 ends up somehow stealing the time machine and going back to 1955 to give his younger self a helpful tool to make him successful, all unbeknownst to the Doc and to Marty.  Chaos of course ensues, making Marty and Doc go back in time, forth in time, and right on time but in an alternate 1985, where things are all bad.

Nobody really mentions it, but Part II is quite interesting for the thriller element it has.  There are a few tense moments in the film, starting first with the alternate 1985 sequence. There, Hill Valley is like a colorful neo-noir with shady characters, suspense moments and a few great character revelations. Lea Thompson in this sequence is equal parts comical and heartbreaking.  When we go back to 1955, this time to stop Biff’s new plan, and also somehow avoiding the moments from the first film, Marty is given some really tense moments to try and grab that future object from 1955 Biff. Re-watching the film now, those were moments I was on the edge of my seat.  These are the biggest parts of the film that make it so enjoyable.  Those tense moments make the film a different experience at times.

That’s not to say the elements that made the original so entertaining aren’t also still there, because they are. Marty and Doc are still a great unlikely pair.  They do their best to get in and get out and know that their time travel experiments aren’t meant to be a lifelong experience.  The scenes involving Marty’s family in the future are also a crazy future slice of life.  It’s interesting to see some of the things that are actually happening now, versus the thought of what might have been way back in 1989, the year the film was released.  There are some very cool technological moments here as there are some great early CGI era effects in the film. Pair that with some great pacing and you have a classic sequel that stands right up with the original film.

Video

• Encoding:HEVC/H.265
• Resolution:4K
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Layers:BD-100
• HDR:HDR10/HDR10+/Dolby Vision
• Clarity/Detail: Off the bat, this installment of the Back to the Future sports the same luminous amazing new 4K look as the first. Here some scenes are more colorful than before and we see lots of pop and detail in some very wonderfully layered and textures interiors and exteriors.  Set pieces were created with love and they are a feast for our eyes in 4K!
• Depth: While there isn’t a modern day 3-D like pop to the image, the depth is lovingly recreated in interiors. Marty’s future home, Biff’s debauchery emporium and downtown Hill Valley in any area all come to life with great depth!
• Black Levels: Fantastic looking here. No grey blacks, no faded dark scenes and just overall a lovely look for blacks in any type of lighting.
• Color Reproduction: The 80’s color palette is once again intentionally muted. When we go to 2015, colors pick up a little bit. In alternate 1985, the HDR colors on the sleazier Hill Valley looks incredible. Even in darkly lit scenes, things overall look fantastic color-wise.
• Flesh Tones: Flesh tones look natural unless there is prosthetic makeup involved. The pasty look would be passable but for the new format, there are some telling makeup moments. Nothing to complain about though.
• Noise/Artifacts: Film grain, yes. Noise, No!

Audio

• Audio Format(s): English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; English: Dolby Digital 2.0; French: DTS 5.1; Spanish: DTS 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
• Dynamics: Dynamically speaking, this mix is just as engaging and full-bodied as the first films. The only real lacking feature is bass, but I’ll blame that on 1989! Surrounds and height channels offer engaging sound throughout and the dialogue is right up front and always intelligible.
• Low Frequency Extension: LFE is subtle here. Not a complaint but the moments of rumble are few and far in between. The time machine promotes the most use of your sub(s) and music is a close second.
• Height: Height speakers are active for flyovers, overhead noise and music in distance. A key scene at the end has some engaging rain in the heights too.
• Surround Sound Presentation: Surrounds are engaging the entire film. Music, sound effects and off-screen noise share the speakers with lots of great moments throughout.
• Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is perfectly placed in every scene of the film.

Extras

Back To The Future comes in a couple of incarnations to 4K. The films aren’t available individually but all together in a set.  The digibook set is the standard and Best Buy has a nifty steelbook set.  Target and Amazon also offer one with a collectible hoverboard! They all include a digital code for each film and special features for each film along with a bonus disc.  For the first film, the legacy features are as follows:

Extras for Back to the Future II are just as extensive as the first film.  They are:

• Deleted Scenes (HD, Various times) – An extensive collection of excised scenes. A lot of them seem focused on the family life of 2015 Marty or alternate 1985 and aren’t missed in the finished film.
• Tales from The Future: Time Flies (HD, 28:37) – A making of featurette that is all about the work going into creating the film
• The Physics of Back to the Future (HD, 8:25) – A short but insightful feature with a physicist explaining all the science behind the time travel aspects of the film.
• Archival Featurettes: Making Back To The Future Part II (SD, 6:40), Making The Trilogy (Part II) (SD, 15:30) – Self-explanatory EPK Featurettes from the past. Still informative, but of a definite vintage.
• Behind The Scenes (SD) – Brief insights on all behind the scenes aspects
  • Outtakes (00:49)
  • Production Design (2:55)
  • Storyboarding (1:29)
  • Designing the DeLorean (3:31)
  • Designing Time Travel (2:41)
  • Hoverboard Tests (00:58)
  • Evolution of Visual Effects (5:42)
  • Photo Galleries
• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2:21)
• Q&A Commentary with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale
• Feature Commentary with Bob Gale and Neil Canton

Summary 

Back To The Future Part II is a truly wonderful sequel. It’s a lot of fun, a little different and overall a great movie to watch over and over. A great companion and continuation of the original, there really is nothing bad to say about this one.  Just like with the first film, this one is a stunner in 4K. The presentation just oozes with detail and sounds better than it ever has! If you’re a fan, you already know this set is a must buy! If you’re new to the films, jump in and love them with the rest of us!