What Back to the Future II got right and wrong about 2015

Today is the day Marty McFly visits in Back to the Future Part II, the sequel to Robert Zemeckis’ 1985 masterpiece "Back to the Future".

Now that we’ve finally hit the day portrayed in the film it’s time to give the producers a report card on the things they got right… and wrong.

SEE ALSO: Great Scott! Microsoft celebrates Back to the Future day with a cool hidden Easter egg

What Back to the Future II Got Right

Tablet computers

Apple catapulted tablets into the mainstream with its first iPad back in 2010 that had followed years of various companies playing around the concept of a tablet PC. In Back to the Future II, Marty McFly is asked to sign a tablet by another member of the Hill Valley Preservation Society and, although it’s a lot chunkier than the current batch of tablets, it was still a tablet.

Video calling

Online video calling is second nature in the real year 2015 with Skype and FaceTime used almost more than regular mobile phones to keep in contact with people. This was the thing that Zemeckis managed to get almost completely correct in a scene where the TV is used to make a call in full screen with the smaller image in the corner making it look not unlike FaceTime.

Flat-screen wall-mounted TVs

He got even closer to the modern day when it came to visualizing what TV would be like in the future and including a large flat-screen wall-mounted TV on Marty McFly’s wall.The TV looks suspiciously like any Samsung, LG, Sony or other branded TV set that you would expect to find in a local electronics store. The movie even made sure that the aspect ratio of the TV was 16×9 and not 4×3 that was preferred up until widescreen became the common standard.

Wearables

It’s projected that everyone will be completely addicted to wearables in the coming years and their invention didn’t go unseen by McFly’s kids of the future in 2015 who sit chomping away at dinner complete with virtual reality headsets and clunky smart watches that are akin to some of a wrist-chunks on the market right now. The headsets in Back to the Future II allow you to make and receive calls, watch TV and connect in with the phone system used by everyone in the house.

Smart Home

When Jennifer is escorted home by the cops and realizes she’s in the future, she is reminded that lights should be programmed for when you get home, much like what you can now do in a smart home right now.

Biometrics

Fingerprint and eye scanning technology is scattered about in Back to the Future II much like it is in real life today with everything from letting yourself into the house to paying for a taxi with your thumbprint as used by creator Zemeckis. It mirrors the modern day where biometric technology has eventually found its way onto our mobile devices and we can use that in conjunction with technology inside taxis to pay for a ride home, and plays a big part in immigration at US airports.

Hoverboards

Okay, so these aren’t as widespread as in Back to the Future II but there are companies working on hoverboards, including Lexus, even if they have restrictions. Still, a hoverboard is a hoverboard.

What Back to the Future II Got Wrong

No Internet

One of the biggest boobs that Back to the Future II failed to notice was the Internet and it is conspicuous by its complete absence from the realization of 2015.

Fax Machines Reign Supreme

Fax machines have long been replaced by email as a form of electronically transmitting a form and few organizations still rely on them as heavily as the film foresaw, where faxes were spilling out of machines and there is even the mention of dust-repellent paper. Imagine that!

The double tie phenomenon and other fashion faux pas

Marty McFly the 2015 edition decided that one tie just wasn’t going to cut it and took to wearing two separate pieces of material hanging from his neck at once that made it look like he was keeping one to give to his friend later on.

It wasn’t just Marty going double with other people donning the same look and it’s something that hasn’t as yet found its way onto the catwalks. Further to that, most of the clothes worn were hideously old fashioned that people in the real 2015 wouldn’t be seen dead in them. Not even the hipsters!

Self-tying shoes

Marty only has to tap his shoes to make them lace up and, even though Nike did unveil a limited release shoe based on Marty’s sneakers, it definitely hasn’t started to be the standard way we lace our shoes. We have slip-ons for that after all.

Flying cars

Look at most films that have a peek at the future and the flying car is one of the standard components in almost every one. We still haven’t been blessed by the flying car and, even though driverless cars are on the way, we will be putting up with roads for some time yet.

Automation and robotics

The arrival of robotics and everything being automated was a huge part of Back to the Future II, however, we haven’t handed over dog walking to robots and litter bins are not remote controlled just yet.

Among the other things Back to the Future II got wrong were the cinemas showing Jaws 19, lawyers being completely abolished, the Black & Decker Hydrator, zappers, x-ray vision and the distinct lack of mobile phones even though they had already been invented in full brick form by the time the film came out.

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