Back to the Future Part II
Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) tries out a hoverboard in the 1989 movie "Back to the Future, Part II."
(Video still)
"Back to the Future Part II" came out 25 years ago in 1989, and remains one of the most beloved time travel movies of all time. (No offense, Bill and Ted.)
One year from now will be the date that Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) travel to in the future: October 21, 2015. What ensued was a '80s-esque vision of what could be, including flying cars, fax machines (ha!) and the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series.
1. Hoverboards (WRONG)
Seeing Marty use a floating skateboard to evade bullies (and later save Doc's lady Clara in "Back to the Future Part III") made everyone immediately want to buy their own. The only problem is they didn't exist and they still don't, though we have hovercrafts and non-floating replicas of the Mattel Hoverboard. Tony Hawk and others had fun with a "Huvr hoax" in March, but the closest thing we have today could be the HENDO Hoverboard, a magnetic skateboard that can only float above a copper surface -- and only one inch off the ground -- which still needs Kickstarter funding.
2. Sneakers with power laces (RIGHT... soon)
In February, Nike designer Tinker Hatfield said sneakers with self-tying "power laces" will be released in 2015, just in time to make the movie's predictions true. In 2011, the shoe company sold 1,500 Nike Air MAG replicas that lit up like Marty's actual kicks (but didn't lace up automatically) to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
3. Auto-drying jackets and inside-out pants (WRONG)
Futuristic fashion is almost always wrong in movies, but at least "BTTF" didn't make everyone wear shiny jumpsuits. And thank goodness, inside-out pants haven't taken off -- or backwards clothes, like Kris Kross.
4. Flying cars (WRONG)
Driver-less and self-driving cars are starting to make "Demolition Man" seem oddly realistic, but flying cars? Anyone who's ever been in a car crash can imagine the dangers of letting just anyone fly their vehicles around.
5. 3-D movies and doing sequels to death (RIGHT)
"Jaws 19" hasn't happened yet, but we've got seven "Saw" movies, a 13th "Friday the 13th" is due in 2015, at least five more "Star Wars" movies are in the works, and seemingly everything's in 3-D these days. The Scenery Channel still hasn't happened yet, though.
6. Flat-screen TVs mounted on the wall (RIGHT)
Not everyone's got a wall-sized television unit like the McFly family, but flat-screen high-definition TVs with the 16x9 aspect are now common.
7. Fax machines and phone booths (WRONG)
OK, phone booths and fax machines still exist, but when's the last time you saw someone using them? Marty Jr. is seen using a pay phone and old Marty gets fired via fax, showing that writer-director Robert Zemeckis had no idea cell phones (or smartphones) were on the horizon.
8. Tablets, Google Glass, digital cameras, more devices (RIGHT)
In the future, you can sign a petition to save the clock tower by pressing your finger on what looks like an iPad or Kindle. Marty and Jennifer's (Elisabeth Shue) kids use "TV glasses" to answer the phone, which sounds a lot like Google Glass and other wearable smart devices. Doc takes photos with a digital camera that actually looks outdated now. And the family "talks" to the house, turning on lights and televisions -- which are also possible through computer voice assistants like Siri and Cortana.
9. Rehydrated pizza (WRONG)
Grandma (Lea Thompson) "rehydrates" a pizza in seconds, turning a little frozen block into a large, hot meal. Dehydrated food does exist (astronauts eat it) but rehydrated? That doesn't sound organic -- or likely to happen anytime soon.
10. Penalties for illegal performance enhancements in sports (RIGHT)
Gawker points out the USA Today that has the front page headline about Marty (and later Biff's gang) being jailed also has a side-column headline about a pitcher being suspended for using a bionic arm. It's not the same as PEDs like steroids, but can you imagine Mariano Rivera with a bionic arm?
11. A baseball team in Miami (RIGHT)
Speaking of baseball, a hologram in 2015 tells Marty that Miami was in the World Series. The Miami-based Florida Marlins made their MLB debut in 1993, four years after the movie.
12. Cubs win the World Series (WRONG)
That same hologram says Chicago beat Miami, which hasn't happened yet. In fact, the Cubbies still haven't won a World Series since 1908.
13. Queen Diana (WRONG)
The futuristic USA Today, sent by compu-fax satellite, also refers to Princess Diana as a queen, which she could've been at this point, if she hadn't been killed in a car crash in 1997. Diana would've turned 54 in 2015.
14. Drones (RIGHT)
Business Insider adds the photo of young Biff being arrested in 2015 was taken by a USA Today drone. That's a growing reality, though the newspaper might not have its own drone yet.
15. Mr. Fusion (WRONG)
As iO9 writes, Mr. Fusion would have been the movie's most useful invention -- if it were real. It's basically a personal energy reactor that literally transforms garbage into clean fuel for a car (and takes care of throwing out the trash).
16. Suspended animation kennels (WRONG)
iO9 also brings up a scene where Doc says he left his dog Einstein in a suspended animation kennel. The testing that would go into developing such a device sounds frightening.
17. Video games that don't require hands (RIGHT)
Remember seeing little Elijah Wood at the arcade game, telling Michael J. Fox that having to use your hands to play video games is "like a baby's toy?" Hello, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect.
18. Thumbprints to make payments (RIGHT)
Old Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) uses his thumbprint to pay for a cab ride and the iPhone 6 uses fingerprints on its Touch ID for Apple Pay feature, making payments simply by waving a smartphone at checkout at Wegmans and other retailers.
19. Double ties (WRONG)
Yes, 2015 Marty wears two ties. Has anyone tried that in real life? Who could pull it off?
20. Laser discs (WRONG)
11 Points notes that Marty and Doc hide passed out Jennifer's body on a pile of laser discs, which have been almost completely obliterated by cloud storage, streaming video and Blu-Ray DVDs.
21. Video conferencing (RIGHT)
Old Marty talks with Needles (Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea) and his boss via a video call. FaceTime, Skype, G+ chat and dozens of other video conferencing services now exist, proving the future is finally here. Sort of.
By the way, no one's predicting a "Back to the Future 4" just yet. Bob Gale, who co-wrote and co-produced the original "Back to the Future" trilogy, recently said a sequel isn't likely to happen:
"Let's face it, we've seen a lot of sequels that are made years and years later and I don't think I can name one that's any good, that lives up to the originals," Gale told Yahoo Movies last week.
Of course, reboots and spinoffs are another story -- a "Back to the Future" musical is still in the works.