The Hoverboard

Obviously one of the most important films of the last 100 years was Back to the Future Part II. One of the most exciting parts about this follow up to the smash hit Back to the Future was the entire hoverboard chase sequence. One thing that has always bothered me though was at the point where Marty in an attempt to escape Griff and his futuristic goons is riding behind a hover jeep. Griff swings at him with his bat and Marty ducks only to fly over a car and into the pond area in front of the new 2015 clock tower. Marty comes to a halt just feet from dry land. Griff and his goons taunt him stating that,

"Hey McFly, you bozo! Hoverboards don't work on water...unless you got POWER!! HAHAHAHHA!"

This is what bothers me. What makes hoverboards not work on water? In the scenes leading up to this we see that Marty and those chasing him are merely pushing their feet over the air in a style similar to a skateboard except NO contact is made with the ground. They are all pushing on air. So why cannot hover boards work on water at all? They clearly maintain the ability to hover. Marty can even be seen dipping his feet in the water attempting to push. There is no reason he shouldn't be able to move forward at least a little bit!!!

Other things that bother me in this sequence include the fact that Griff and his gang is charging at Marty and as Griff yells, "Batter UP!!!" as he is flying on a rocket powered hoverboard no one in the town seems to care. There is a clear shot of a police officer in the background on the clocktower steps actually turning away from the ensuing mayhem!! Griff is about to assault a man with a weapon and no one cares!! I also am not clear though why his goons "strapped" themselves onto Griffs Pit Bull since they could do nothing. Even more bizarre is the next event that happens in this sequence. Griff misses his swing and then they go flying off into glass front of the Clock Tower building. What exactly were they planning on doing if they actually did hit him? I don't think they'd have come to a instant stop either.

Finally the sequence ends with Griff and Goons getting arrested by Hill Valley police and Marty just swims away. No cops come to get a statement from him. Not only that but somehow Griffs Pit Bull hoverboard has magically fallen into the hands of the little girl that Marty took the Mattel hoverboard from. Even more insane is the fact that the USA TODAY evidently deems Hill Valley crime issues front page news!

In conclusion, Back to the Future Part II is awesome.